AUTONOMY & COMPUTER VISION/ML INTERNSHIPS FOR AERIAL ROBOTIC SYSTEMS (Summer 2022 and 2022-2023 School Year)

POSITION TITLE: Autonomy (Track 1) & Computer Vision/ML (Track 2) Internships for Aerial Robotic Systems
REPORTS TO: CTO at Airgility
NUMBER OF OPENINGS: 4, Immediate Hires
WORK LOCATION: College Park, MD
COMPENSATION: Paid Hourly Compensation

Position Description, Track Requirements, and General Qualifications

We are seeking up to four full-time interns for the 2022 Summer and/or co-ops for the 2022-23 School Year (Fall & Spring Semesters - 15 to 20 hrs per week).

We are looking for highly motivated talent for our hands-on projects. This is a "hit the ground running" type of position with go-to-market urgency! We have lots of fun at Airgility, but we are focused, as so should you; therefore, we will mentor you, but the talent and drive must come from within you!

As part of our team, you will develop novel algorithms to advance the autonomy of our aerial vehicles. You will have the opportunity to learn new technologies while working on algorithms and a chance to explore something new beyond your expertise. This requires a deep understanding of different algorithms to properly interpret the relevance of the system’s surroundings and awareness. The person filling this role will further enhance ATHENA™, Airgility’s on-board autonomy stack.

The candidate must clearly show interest and proficiency that fits into at least one of the two provided track descriptions below. Blanket statements that the candidate “can do it all” will be highly scrutinized during a possible job interview. This position requires of the candidate the ability to learn, develop, dream up and apply new techniques for novel solutions to problems related with indoor (GPS-independent) aerial robotics and supporting ground systems.

Track 1 Requirements – Autonomy

• Design, develop and test autonomous navigation algorithms for aerial vehicles.
• Research and tune (high-rate) state estimators.
• Design and prototype control schemes for aerial robots.
• System modelling of aerial vehicles.

• Test and integrate mapping and localization packages.
• Develop custom 2D and 3D path planners.
• Experience in working with physical autonomous robots.
• Experience in working with large open-source repositories.
• Experience working with PX4 firmware and PX4 ECL EKF estimator.
   

Track 2 Requirements - Computer Vision/Machine Learning

• Experience working with Deep Learning Frameworks, such as TensorFlow and PyTorch.
• Be responsible for designing and testing computer vision and machine learning algorithms by implementing them in a robust and efficient manner using C++.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with computer vision and pattern recognition algorithms such as stereo vision, camera calibration, 3D scene reconstruction, image processing, object detection, recognition and tracking, semantic/instance segmentation, motion/depth estimation, optical flow, activity recognition and image classification.
• Solve real-world computer vision challenges such as object detection, image classification, object tracking, sensor fusion, or sensor calibration.
• Building integrated solutions that apply our technology towards specific product verticals.
• Perform design, development, testing, and prototyping of advanced computer vision and image processing algorithms for various robotics applications.
• Maintain high-quality, well-documented C++ code to contribute to a proprietary computer vision code base.
• Experimenting with deep learning network architectures to improve the accuracy of detection in various unknown environments.
• Experience with production machine learning pipelines, from dataset collection, labeling, training, validation, and deployment.

General Qualifications:

We are looking for a Master’s or Bachelor’s student in Robotics, Computer Science, or Machine Learning with the following qualifications:

• Excellent proficiency in C++ and Python.
• Experience with Robot Operating System (ROS/ROS2).
• Proficient with Git and Linux.
• Experience with edge computing boards.
• Ability to design complex software and prototype proof of concept in C++.
• Strong understanding of software design methodologies.
• Excellent knowledge of linear algebra and statistics.
• Experience with scientific computing, parallel programming, and multi-threading is a plus.
• Develop and maintain the software stack on the hardware platform.
• Develop highly robust and optimized C++ ROS programs.
• Write technical documents explaining procedures and functions.

You would be a great fit if you also possess the following qualities/experience:

• Detail-oriented and organized, possess strong communication skills, and be able to handle a variety of tasks in an efficient manner.
• Strong communication skills and teamwork mindset; you learn from and share your mistakes.
• Ability to balance working individually and being part of a team.
• Passionate about real-world robotics problems and experienced with aerial autonomous robots.
• You take ownership and work with the team to deliver exceptional results. You are engaged in the performance of the entire system across engineering disciplines.
• You enjoy working fast and smart, and you are comfortable in the earlier stages of developing an algorithm from scratch.
• Great communicator. You have experience writing clear, concise, and detailed documentation.
• You look forward to learning how to build the physical system, integrate new components, and iterate quickly. You are not afraid to debug and explore the performance edge cases of the system.
• You look forward to flight testing in various locations/environments that challenge the on-board algorithms and sensor fusion schema.

Compensation

This is a paid hourly position and is negotiated at the time of position offer. We offer flexible work schedule as we are accustomed with the rigors of the Academic responsibilities of the candidate. However, most of the required workload is in-person as it involves hardware and flight testing.

Other Requirement

US Citizenship and Permanent Residents are preferred. However, we gladly accept students on a Visa and often look forward to sponsoring them if there are available positions post-Graduation.

Location

Airgility is in College Park, Maryland; across the road from the College Park Metro Station.

How to Apply

FOR BEST AND EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION, fill out our on-line in-take form below (http://ter.ps/AiRobotics) AND email team@airgility.co signaling that you applied. We do check it often, but we would like to be as proactive as possible and appreciate the additional notification.

If interested, please fill out the application form below with your information and Résumé.