Flight Software - Autonomy Intern

Archer • San Jose, CA

3h • $25 - $35 • Onsite

About The Position

Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose, California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing, manufacturing, and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise. Our sights are set high and our problems are hard, and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter, drives better insights, and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences, and supports and celebrates all of our team members. This internship is a part of a 10-week full-time summer internship program opportunity. This role will be based at Archer’s headquarters in San Jose, California and relocation or housing will not be provided. Archer is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented intern to join Archer. This internship provides a hands-on opportunity to gain practical experience within the Autonomy & Flight Software team. You will play a critical role in developing the “brain” of the aircraft, bridging the gap between theoretical autonomy algorithms and safety-critical embedded flight software.You will work closely with multi-functional teams to design, implement and validate software that enables safe, autonomous flight operations.

Requirements

• Going into the 2nd or 3rd year in college, pursuing a degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, or Electrical Engineering.
• Strong proficiency in C++ (C++11 or later) and Python, with a solid understanding of object-oriented programming and data structures.
• Familiarity with autonomous systems concepts such as path planning (A, RRT), state estimation (Kalman Filters), control theory (PID, LQR), or computer vision.
• Experience working in a Linux environment and using version control systems (Git).
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and communicate technical concepts clearly.

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on experience with robotics frameworks (like ROS/ROS2), embedded systems projects (like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Pixhawk) or familiarity with high-performance edge computing platforms, like the Nvidia Jetson family (Nano, Xavier, Orin) is a plus.
• A passion for aviation, electric mobility, and solving complex problems in a fast-paced, startup-like environment.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and test high-quality C++ or Python software for autonomous behaviors, including perception, state estimation, or path planning.
• Develop and improve software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation environments to validate autonomy logic before flight testing.
• Analyze flight telemetry data to debug software anomalies and optimize algorithm performance against real-world metrics.
• Assist in the integration of sensors (LIDAR, Radar, Cameras) and avionics hardware into the flight software stack.
• Collaborate with Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) engineers to translate control laws into efficient, real-time embedded code.
• Participate in code reviews and write technical documentation to ensure software reliability and compliance with aerospace safety standards (DO-178C).
• Develop internal tools and scripts to automate testing, data visualization, and software deployment processes

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees