R&D Engineer Intern
About The Position
The Biohub in San Francisco is seeking a highly motivated undergraduate student to join our 10-week Summer Internship Program, running from June 16, 2026, to August 21, 2026. R&D Engineering Interns are embedded within active research and technology teams, contributing directly to ongoing platform and method development efforts. Each project is carefully scoped to be achievable within the internship timeframe while delivering meaningful technical and scientific impact. Interns will spend the summer immersed in real-world research alongside biomedical researchers, research scientists, data scientists, and engineers. In addition to gaining hands-on technical experience aligned to top scientific priorities, interns will develop critical professional skills—including scientific communication, problem-solving, and collaboration—and will have opportunities to build relationships with scientists who provide mentorship, guidance, and career insight. Available Project Areas (Summer 2026) Smart Microscopy & Adaptive Imaging for Dynamic Cell Profiling This project focuses on developing smart microscopy features that improve how biological imaging data are collected. Dynamic imaging is a cornerstone technology for many Biohub research programs, and this internship will explore how integrating microscope control, computer vision, and machine learning can enable adaptive data acquisition that prioritizes biologically meaningful events. The intern will help design, implement, and test software features that guide microscope acquisition in real time—selecting fields of view, time points, and z-slices that maximize the capture of relevant biological information. Working closely with computational imaging scientists, AI/ML engineers, and biology collaborators, the intern will apply these tools to study organelle remodeling during innate immune responses. By the end of the internship, the intern will have contributed to working smart-sampling features integrated into an active microscopy acquisition pipeline, along with documented results and software suitable for reuse in future projects.
Requirements
- Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in physics, engineering, computer science, or life sciences
- Strong programming experience (e.g., Python, MATLAB, C++, ROS, or similar)
- Interest in hardware automation, imaging systems, or robotics
- Prior research experience (academic or internship experience)
- Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team environment
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Must be a current undergraduate student (enrolled full time at a college or university both Spring 2026 AND Fall 2026 terms)
- Must be able to commit to the 10-week Summer Internship Program June 16, 2026, to August 21, 2026.
- Must be able to be on-site at the Biohub in San Francisco for the duration of the program
Nice To Haves
- Experience with image analysis or computer vision tools (e.g., scikit-image, OpenCV, PyTorch, ImageJ)
- Exposure to microscopy, imaging automation, or experimental biology through coursework or research
- Interest in interdisciplinary research spanning engineering, computation, and biology
Responsibilities
- Receive support through a 10-week experience
- Receive mentorship to support your personal and professional development
- Gain and enhance your technical and transferable skills through training and seminars
- Learn how to design, plan, and carry out laboratory and/or computational scientific experiments
- Present at the end-of-program symposium
- Build relationships with peers and colleagues
Benefits
- Hands-on, one-of-a-kind experience
- Hourly compensation
- Invaluable relationships
- Trainings and seminars
- Social events/activities
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What This Job Offers
Career Level
Intern
