Software Engineer Intern | Fall and Spring | Autonomous Intelligent Sensing for Space Applications

MRSL Real-Time Systems Laboratory•Sarasota, FL

20d•Onsite

About The Position

MRSL is seeking a driven engineering intern excited by difficult technical problems to join their Autonomous Intelligent Sensing for Space Applications project. This internship offers the opportunity to work on a mature, high-impact effort focused on autonomous space systems. The system has been nominated for a launch program, and the intern will contribute to its preparation, on-orbit testing, operational support, performance assessment, and iterative improvement. Unlike typical intern projects, this role involves taking ownership of meaningful technical work within an existing flight-bound system and seeing it through critical lifecycle stages. The ideal candidate will be comfortable learning quickly, working independently, and collaborating within a multidisciplinary team.

Requirements

Working toward or already holding a B.S. or graduate degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, Imaging Science, or a related engineering or science discipline.
Experience with programming in some combination of Python, C/C++, Java, scripting, and Linux.
Ability to reason through algorithmic and system-level problems and implement practical solutions in code.
Strong communication skills, attention to detail, and a willingness to take ownership of assigned work.
Must be a U.S. Citizen and able to meet TS/SCI clearance eligibility requirements.

Nice To Haves

ROS 2, robotics middleware, or distributed systems
ML, RL, agentic AI, PyTorch, TensorFlow, Keras, scikit-learn, or Edge ML
Autonomous or real-time sensing systems, embedded processing, or sensor fusion
Signal or image processing, detection and estimation, classification, or spectral analysis
Docker, Git workflows, CI/CD, automated testing, and software validation
Space systems, flight software, or operations involving embedded or real-time constraints

Responsibilities

Support pre-launch integration, readiness, and validation of autonomous sensing software.
Support post-launch testing and operations, including monitoring, metrics, and dashboards.
Tune, evaluate, and optimize machine learning and reinforcement learning models.
Perform model validation, system verification, and end-to-end mission testing.
Analyze customer feedback, anomalies, and system issues to identify root causes and develop resolutions.
Extend intelligent sensing, autonomy, and decision-making capabilities using modern software and AI techniques.
Collaborate with experienced engineers on system design and production-quality software development.
Document findings, communicate results, and translate lessons learned into improved operational capability.