Autonomous Aircraft Guidance, Navigation, and Controls Intern

About the Role

Join Zipline as an Autonomous Aircraft Guidance, Navigation, and Controls Intern and contribute to our mission of transforming logistics through innovative drone technology. This internship offers a unique opportunity to work closely with our Guidance, Navigation, and Controls (GNC) team, where you will engage in meaningful projects that directly impact our autonomous aircraft operations. As an intern, you will learn how to fly autonomous aircraft under various challenging conditions, gaining hands-on experience that will serve you well in your future career.

What You'll Do

• Contribute to the design, implementation, testing, and release of innovative flight algorithms that enhance the operational performance of our vehicle controllers.
• Create tools and tests to demonstrate your design performance and safeguard against software regressions, utilizing both theoretical guarantees and simulations.
• Analyze flight data to evaluate recent changes and upgrades, identifying regressions and potential areas for improvement.
• Design onboard integrity tests to communicate when system performance is degraded.
• Present key results and changes to the broader engineering team, showcasing your contributions to the project.

Requirements

• Strong applied math skills, particularly in areas relevant to aerospace engineering.
• Experience with simulations and hardware integration, demonstrating a hands-on approach to problem-solving.
• Familiarity with controls solutions developed through team projects, theses, or competitions.
• Exposure to precision integrated inertial navigation, dynamic modeling, linear control analysis, or optimal control with uncertainty.
• Proficiency in software engineering, particularly in embedded software (C, C++) and technical computing (MATLAB, Python, Julia, etc.).
• Experience with GitHub and working in a collaborative multi-developer environment is a plus.

What We Offer

• Competitive hourly wage of $38-$42, commensurate with experience.
• Full-time internship with in-person work at our South San Francisco or Dallas office.
• Housing stipend and relocation support to assist with your move.
• Paid sick time and overtime pay for additional hours worked.
• A diverse and inclusive work environment that values your contributions and offers opportunities for growth.

Join us at Zipline and help build the future of logistics with cutting-edge technology. This Autonomous Aircraft Guidance, Navigation, and Controls Intern role is not just about learning; it's about making a tangible impact in the world of autonomous delivery systems.