Autonomy Engineer Intern, Simulation & Robotics, 2027 (HQ)

Skydio•San Mateo, CA

2d•$70

About The Position

Skydio is seeking an Autonomy Engineer Intern to help advance its drone simulation capabilities. The role focuses on the Skydio Simulator and the systems that support development and testing of autonomous flight. The intern will work with members of the core software development team and take ownership of a project that advances the team’s and products’ capabilities. The intern will develop simulator components in C++ and Python, help integrate and validate the autonomy stack in simulation, improve the simulator’s architecture, physics, sensor models, performance, and fidelity, and collaborate with autonomy, perception, and controls engineers. The role also includes debugging interactions among physics, sensors, autonomy logic, and rendering; contributing to the simulator’s technical direction; and documenting how it works. The posting describes the position as an internship and gives hourly compensation rates of $47 for undergraduate students, $53 for master’s students, and $70 for PhD students. Compensation may vary based on skills and other factors, and location may affect compensation.

Requirements

Strong software engineering experience with C++ and Python.
Experience building complex systems where performance, determinism, or correctness matter.
Comfort reasoning about time-synchronized systems, state machines, or real-time execution.
Ability to work in a large, evolving codebase with multiple stakeholders.
Interest in robotics, simulation, or physical systems; prior robotics experience is not required.

Nice To Haves

Prior robotics experience.
Experience with robotics, simulation, game engines, or real-time systems.
Experience with physics engines, sensor modeling, or hardware abstraction layers.
Experience with multithreaded or low-latency system design.
Experience debugging systems that span software and physical behavior.

Responsibilities

Design, implement, and evolve the foundational architecture of the Skydio Simulator across vehicle types, environments, and use cases.
Improve and extend physics models for vehicle motion, environmental interactions, and dynamic agents.
Build high-fidelity simulations of cameras, IMUs, and other onboard components, including their timing, noise characteristics, and hardware behavior.
Run and validate the full Skydio autonomy stack in simulation and ensure consistency between simulated and real-world behavior.
Implement simulator capabilities that support customer and internal autonomy-engineering workflows, including training scenarios and advanced testing modes.
Profile and optimize simulator performance while improving realism and accuracy.
Develop core simulator components in C++ and Python while working close to real-time constraints.
Collaborate with autonomy, perception, and controls engineers to align simulation behavior with real-world systems.
Debug complex interactions among physics, sensors, autonomy logic, and rendering.
Help shape the simulator’s long-term technical direction as a product and internal platform.
Contribute to documentation and shared understanding of the simulator’s internal operation.