Robotics Firmware Intern - Drone Platform & Systems

Join the Wingtra team and become part of this venture-backed robotics scaleup with a global and international team of 125+ dedicated Wingtranauts who want to see their actions have a positive and lasting impact on the world. Founded more than 8 years ago at ETH Zurich, Europe’s leading robotics university, our goal is to build the best aerial robots to digitize the world at the push of a button and set the basis for faster and better decisions. Wingtra provides efficient and reliable data solutions to a variety of industries ranging from mining, construction and agriculture to humanitarian organizations, environmentalists and wildlife monitoring groups. We are reaching for the stars and together we might just get there. Open communication, asking hard questions and valuing diverse viewpoints are but a few things that will help us achieve our goals. Above all we will never stop learning and striving to help each other reach our maximum potential. During your internship at Wingtra, you will be fully onboarded into the highly cross-functional team that developed the WingtraRAY drone from the ground up. You will get the opportunity to solve real-world applied robotics problems in a hands-on approach across the full development cycle. Your solutions will be used by customers operating in challenging environments worldwide. Beyond the technical work, you will take part in the daily life of the team, including technical discussions, flight-test preparation, reviews, feedback sessions and team events. We want to support your growth in a professional engineering environment that goes beyond the purely technical domain. This role focuses on the drone platform software layer: system integration, embedded services, diagnostics, payload and component communication, validation and testing. It is distinct from our guidance, navigation and control internships, which focus on flight-control algorithm development. The earliest starting date is August/September and duration will be 5 to 6 months or longer - applications for later in the year cannot be given priority. Thank you for understanding. Important: Due to holidays until 1st of July, expect delayed answers. Responsibilities Explore, develop and deploy embedded C/C++ software features for the WingtraRAY platform and upcoming products Develop and maintain platform firmware components such as sensor and payload integration, system health monitoring, onboard component communication, online validation logic, diagnostics and safety-related workflows Analyze flight and system logs from internal testing and customer operations, and extend our Python-based log analysis and debugging toolchain Design and execute automated tests, hardware-in-the-loop or simulation campaigns, and in-field drone tests for your code Work closely with QA, hardware, production and app teams to ensure robust system integration and reliable product behavior Participate in team meetings, technical discussions, code reviews, feedback sessions and company-wide all-hands meetings Requirements You finished your B.Sc. and are pursuing a M.Sc. degree in Software / Robotics / Mechatronics Engineering or a related technical field Comfortable developing in C / C++ and interested in embedded real-time and resource-constrained software systems Comfortable working in Python for data analysis, visualization and handling large time-series datasets Hungry to learn, with strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently on technical problems Good interpersonal and communication skills, with a good command of spoken and written English Collaborative, self-motivated and open to feedback, with a strong sense of ownership and engineering responsibility EU citizenship or enrollment in a Swiss institution required to comply with work-permit regulations. Plus Familiarity with git, code review, CI and AI-assisted development workflows Experience with PX4, ArduPilot, MAVLink, Dronecode SDK or other UAV/autopilot software stacks Experience with STM32 microcontrollers and low-level protocols Experience with Raspberry Pi or other companion computers Experience with soldering, electronics debugging or hands-on robotics work Driving license (B) If you enjoy teamwork more than being the individual superhero, and if you thrive in a feedback-driven culture and an exciting, unconventional yet structured and progressive start-up environment, we would love to hear from you.