York is looking for a curious, hands-on Software Engineering Intern who wants to build software that interacts with real spacecraft hardware. This is not a traditional web-development internship. You’ll work alongside Flight Software and Spacecraft Integration & Test engineers to develop, debug, and test software used to command, monitor, and validate space vehicles. Your work may touch embedded Linux systems, spacecraft interfaces, automated test infrastructure, hardware-in-the-loop environments, networking, telemetry, and the tools engineers use to prove a vehicle is ready for flight. You’ll get exposure to the full engineering loop: write code, run it against real or simulated spacecraft hardware, break things safely, debug what happened, improve the software, and run it again. The ideal candidate enjoys figuring out how things work, isn’t afraid of a Linux terminal, likes both software and hardware, and gets excited when their code causes something in the physical world to happen.
Why this internship is different? You won’t spend the summer making buttons slightly more rounded. You’ll work on problems like: Why did this process crash? Why did that packet disappear? Why isn’t this device responding? What happens if we restart this service? Did the spacecraft produce the telemetry we expected? Can we automate this test? Can we make this failure happen again? And then you’ll help build the software that answers those questions.
Responsibilities
Develop and test software used to support spacecraft flight software, vehicle integration, and automated testing Write Python, C/C++, Bash, or other software that interacts with embedded systems and spacecraft hardware Develop software and interfaces running in embedded Linux environments Build tools that command, monitor, configure, and validate spacecraft subsystems Participate in Software-in-the-Loop (SITL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) development and testing Connect software to real hardware interfaces, networks, telemetry streams, and subsystem simulators Troubleshoot problems across software, operating systems, networks, and hardware Debug failures using logs, telemetry, command-line tools, debuggers, and test equipment Develop automated tests that exercise spacecraft functionality and verify expected behavior Support York’s test-like-you-fly philosophy by helping make test environments behave more like the real vehicle Write and execute unit tests and integration tests Participate in technical design discussions and code reviews Work with systems, software, electrical, and test engineers to turn high-level requirements into working solutions Identify technical risks early and help develop practical solutions Use Git, GitLab, CI/CD, and modern software-development workflows Communicate what worked, what failed, what you learned, and what you want to try next Willingness to work full-time in our Greenwood Village Love space!
Preferred Qualifications
Experience developing software for embedded systems Experience with C or C++ on Linux Experience with microcontrollers, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, robotics, drones, automotive systems, or similar hardware Experience debugging software that communicates with physical devices Familiarity with serial, Ethernet, TCP/IP, UDP, CAN, SPI, I2C, or similar interfaces Experience with multithreading, inter-process communication, or pub/sub messaging Experience with Software-in-the-Loop or Hardware-in-the-Loop testing Experience with automated system-level testing Familiarity with telemetry, command-and-control systems, or distributed systems Experience with GitLab CI/CD or other automated build/test systems Experience with CMake or other C/C++ build systems Familiarity with Docker or containerized development environments Experience with debuggers, packet captures, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, or other debugging tools Experience with spacecraft, aerospace, robotics, or other safety- or mission-critical systems Personal projects where you built something that moves, communicates, senses, controls, or interacts with hardware Familiarity with Python or scripting languages Interest in spacecraft, aerospace, or safety-critical systems Experience working in lab or system integration environments Active Secret Clearance
Based on your experience, you’ll be assigned to one of these teams.