Flight Controls Intern

Regent•North Kingstown, RI

41d

About The Position

At REGENT, we're on a mission to revolutionize regional transportation between coastal cities. We're not just building vehicles, we're creating a new category of transportation: the seaglider. These groundbreaking wing-in-ground-effect craft travel just above the water's surface, combining the speed of an airplane with the low operating costs of a boat. Capable of 180 miles at 180 mph on today's battery tech (and up to 400 miles with next-gen batteries), seagliders will unlock fast, affordable, and sustainable coastal transit for passengers and cargo - connecting cities, islands, and communities like never before. Backed by leading investors and powered by a team of passionate, forward-thinking engineers, builders, and operators, we're now scaling from a breakthrough prototype to full production - and building the team to make it happen. Role Overview As a Flight Controls Intern at REGENT, you'll help develop and test control algorithms that enable our seagliders to operate safely and smoothly across three distinct modes: hull-borne, hydrofoil-borne, and wing-in-ground-effect flight. You'll support work at the intersection of hydrodynamics, aerodynamics, and distributed propulsion - a rare and exciting controls challenge unique to this new class of vehicle. You'll contribute to simulation models, algorithm development, and control system evaluation, working closely with engineers across aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, systems, and test. As the vehicle design matures, you'll learn how control laws move from high-fidelity simulation to full-scale prototype testing during sea trials. If you're energized by working at the intersection of cutting-edge innovation, real-world impact, and hands-on engineering, you'll be in the right place - and we'd be thrilled to have you on the team!

Requirements

Pursuing a BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, Computer Engineering, Physics, or related field
Strong fundamentals in dynamics, controls, and numerical methods
Experience with MATLAB/Simulink for algorithm development
Familiarity with C/C++ or embedded programming concepts

Nice To Haves

Coursework in classical or modern control theory
Experience with 6-DOF simulation, flight modeling, or control system analysis
Exposure to state estimation, sensor fusion, or nonlinear control
Hands-on experience with flight testing, robotics, or vehicle prototyping

Responsibilities

Support development and tuning of flight-control algorithms in MATLAB/Simulink
Help evaluate vehicle behavior across hull-borne, foil-borne, and wing-borne modes
Assist with building, refining, and validating simulation models and control architectures
Contribute to analysis of system performance, stability, and responsiveness
Work with cross-functional engineering teams on control surface design, actuator dynamics, and system requirements
Participate in test planning and validation activities for SIL/HIL and prototype testing
Support data analysis from lab tests, flight simulations, and sea trials to refine control strategies