---
title: 'Control Actuation System Engineer at Furientis'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/control-actuation-system-engineer-furientis-los-angeles-8hkyxe5tvmwr'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-07'
---

# Control Actuation System Engineer at Furientis

- **Company:** Furientis
- **Location:** Los Angeles, CA
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-05-14
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/furientis/0f17a290-85d8-43eb-82a5-a8d9cb58fecc

## Job description

America is critically deficient in production of defensive munitions- we currently produce shipborne interceptors in the few hundreds per year while our adversaries are producing offensive threats in the tens of thousands per year. Furientis was started to help solve this problem- introducing a new class of cost-effective, high production rate, interceptor missiles. We're seeking motivated individuals who internalize this problem and are eager to apply their past experience in similar industries (aerospace, defense, automotive/racing, robotics) and out of the box thinking to solve this problem for the US and its allies.

## About the Team

Vehicle Engineering owns the missile as a physical object from design through flight: structures, mechanical integration of the full subsystem stack, and the build.

## About the Role

You will own the fin control actuation system: motor sizing, gear train, mechanical design, servo control law, dyno characterization, hardware-in-the-loop integration, and environmental qualification. Drive electronics are designed by Avionics and embedded firmware by Avionics software, both to your spec; you close the loop with them on the bench. Hands-on from clean-sheet design through ground test and flight. For someone who has taken a tactical-class actuator from sizing through hardware-in-the-loop and flight, ideally on a missile, munition, or guided projectile.

## What You'll Do

- Own the fin actuation system across the F-series airframe: motor, gear train, output shaft, position sensor, and the servo control law that ties them together.
- Size the motor and gear train against aero hinge moments, slew rate, and stall torque across the Mach envelope. Defend bandwidth and authority against autopilot requirements.
- Spec the actuator drive electronics with Avionics: power stage, current sensing, position interface, and motor-bus partitioning.
- Spec the embedded servo firmware with Avionics software: current loop, position loop, command interface, and fault handling. Review the implementation and tune from the bench.
- Stand up the actuator dyno from zero: load fixture, instrumentation, automated test sequences, and frequency-response and step-response characterization.
- Run hardware-in-the-loop with the flight computer and GNC autopilot. Close the loop against the plant model and the integrated airframe.
- Own environmental qualification of the actuator stack: shock, vibration, temperature, humidity, and EMI.
- Take the subsystem from prototype through and flight, including post-flight teardown and data review.
- Make the cost call on every gear set, magnet, sensor, and connector. Pick the simplest part that meets the requirement.

## Skills We're Hiring For

- B.S. in Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace, or Mechatronics Engineering. M.S. preferred.
- 7+ years owning electromechanical actuators from sizing through bench validation and integration, with at least one actuator taken through hardware-in-the-loop or flight.
- Hands-on mechanical design of compact actuators: motor selection, gear trains, output shafts, bearings, and packaging under aero and shock load.
- Fluency with brushless motor characteristics end-to-end: PMSM and BLDC, commutation, current control, and sensored or sensorless schemes.
- Servo-loop fluency: frequency response, bandwidth, phase margin, anti-windup, friction and backlash compensation. Can tune a real actuator, not only simulate one.
- Working fluency with motor-drive electronics and embedded servo firmware sufficient to spec requirements to Avionics and partner on tuning at the bench.
- MATLAB/Simulink or Python for plant modeling and controller design.
- Hands-on bench discipline: dyno setup, frequency-response characterization, fault injection, and environmental testing.

Bonus Points For

- Direct flight experience on a tactical missile, munition, interceptor, or guided projectile control actuation system.
- Hands-on experience writing motor-control firmware or designing motor drive boards. Useful for tuning the loop across the interface with Avionics.
- High-shock and high-vibration actuator qualification: launch loads, gun-launched munitions, or hard-impact events.
- Hinge-moment characterization or actuator-load modeling alongside an aerodynamicist.
- Production transition: moved an actuator from prototype to volume manufacturing, including factory acceptance test flow.
- Vendor management across the motor, magnet, gearing, sensor, and connector supply chain.
- Familiarity with insensitive munitions and tactical-missile qualification environments.
- Hobbyist drone, robotics, motorsport, or model-rocketry build and flight experience that translates to packaging and field-handling intuition.

Eligibility & Logistics Location: On-site at our Los Angeles, CA HQ; remote work is not available. Monthly weekend travel for test events and supplier engagements. Clearance: A clearance is not required for this position. Must be a U.S. Person. Equal Opportunity & Export Compliance Furientis is an equal-opportunity employer. To comply with U.S. export control laws, employment is contingent on eligibility to access export-controlled information.

## About Furientis

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Furientis is a defense technology startup building low-cost, production-scalable interceptor missile systems for the U.S. military.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Pre-seed)
- **Headquarters**: El Segundo, California, USA (operates out of a facility in Playa Vista, Los Angeles)
- **Founded**: 2025
- **Founders**: Brody Franzen (CEO) and Aris Simsarian

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Aerospace & Defense / Defense Technology
- **Target customers**: U.S. military and defense organizations, particularly naval and ship-based interceptor procurement buyers
- **Mission or purpose statement**: "We believe the future of warfare is dictated by production capacity, and our current system of manufacturing critical defensive munitions cannot meet demand." The company aims to build cost-effective defensive munitions at scale.

## Products & Services
- **F 1.0 Interceptor Missile System**: A low-cost interceptor missile architected for an annual production volume of 1,000 units per factory. Designed to counter low-cost threats (drones, cruise missiles) that are expensive to stop with legacy systems. Uses automotive-style materials and assembly processes, commercial off-the-shelf components, and in-house solid rocket motors to achieve a cost of ~$250,000 per missile versus the $1–$5 million normally spent per interceptor.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (Private, early-stage)
- **Key Metric**: $5M total funding raised (Pre-Seed round, announced May 2026)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Silent Ventures (lead), Bessemer Venture Partners, Multiball Capital, SV Angel, Humba Ventures, BVVC, Liquid 2 Ventures, MVP Ventures, Channel 39 Ventures, Vanderbilt University, Gaingels. Angel investors include founders of Anduril, Armada, and Erebor.
- **Growth Signals**: Emerging from stealth with $5M pre-seed; completed six flight tests and ten static-fire tests within its first six months; named a finalist in the Office of Naval Research Tactical Missile Innovation Challenge; actively hiring with 4+ open roles; projected "significant demonstrations" later in 2026.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Design for manufacturing from day one**: Unlike legacy primes that spend a year on modeling before building hardware, Furientis runs four-week design cycles with monthly flight tests—a "build fast, test often" approach.
- **In-house solid rocket motor production**: Most primes outsource this critical component, creating supply chain bottlenecks. Furientis makes its own, giving it control over the most constrained piece of the supply chain.
- **Cost advantage**: Target price is ~$250,000 per missile vs. $1M–$5M for incumbent systems from primes like Lockheed Martin, enabled by automotive-style materials, off-the-shelf components, and simplified assembly.
- **Production scalability**: Designed from scratch for a throughput of 1,000 units per year per factory, addressing the core national security bottleneck of ammunition production capacity.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale production**: Move from prototype flight testing to initial production tooling and build-out of a 9,000-square-foot Los Angeles factory.
- **Team expansion**: Actively hiring elite engineers across opto-mechanical, perception hardware, and finance roles to accelerate development.
- **Demonstrate to the Navy**: Use ongoing flight tests and the ONR challenge to secure a production contract with the U.S. Navy.
- **Prove the thesis**: Continue monthly flight tests to validate the cost and performance of its interceptor system.

## Why Work Here
- **High-impact mission**: Work directly on solving a critical U.S. national security shortage—the ability to produce defensive munitions at the volumes needed to counter modern threats.
- **Fast-paced engineering culture**: Four-week design cycles, monthly flight tests, and a "build and break things" mentality that contrasts with slow, traditional defense primes.
- **Elite team and mentorship**: Leadership includes veterans of Virgin Galactic, Virgin Orbit, and Castelion (a hypersonics startup that raised $350M). Advisors/investors include founders of Anduril and Armada—among the most successful modern defense startups.
- **On-site in Los Angeles**: Roles are on-site in the Playa Vista / El Segundo area. The office is notably located in Lenny Kravitz’s former studio.
- **Early-stage equity**: Joining at pre-seed stage ($5M raised) provides significant ownership potential for early engineers alongside a small, tight-knit team (11-50 employees).
- **Active hiring**: As of mid-2026, open roles include Senior Opto-Mechanical Engineer, Perception Hardware Integration Engineer, and Finance Manager.

## Sources
1. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/furientis)
2. [Fortune (Exclusive launch article)](https://fortune.com/2026/05/14/furientis-missiles-defense-anduril-military-drone-interceptors/)
3. [PitchBook](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/894465-28)
4. [Fusion42 Profile](https://scout.fusion-42.com/startups/ff72fe16-9489-4f67-ae18-a3c6dd66edd4)
5. [Clera](https://www.getclera.com/companies/furientis)

## Other roles at Furientis

- [Senior Opto-Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-opto-mechanical-engineer-furientis-los-angeles-aq7cpd95622r) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Perception Hardware Integration Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/perception-hardware-integration-engineer-furientis-los-angeles-j7g9rbpyp56v) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Finance Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/finance-manager-furientis-los-angeles-93mrf55rgnyx) — Los Angeles, CA
- [IT Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/it-manager-furientis-los-angeles-jbv66mmvh1te) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Senior Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-furientis-los-angeles-1wqvvbmfqdga) — Los Angeles, CA
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- [Technician, Vehicle and Factory](https://feeny.ai/job/technician-vehicle-and-factory-furientis-los-angeles-311g0qba7mj7) — Los Angeles, CA
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