Autonomy Engineer Intern in San Mateo

Skydio is the leading US drone company and a world leader in autonomous flight. The team combines expertise in artificial intelligence, hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer focus to serve a broad range of drone users, from utility inspectors and first responders to soldiers in battlefield scenarios.

About the Role

The core of our system is the computer vision algorithms that let drones understand the world around them. You will architect and implement the algorithms that run on every Skydio drone, working with a computer vision and deep learning team that includes researchers who have advanced the state of the art in academia and industry.

As a Research Intern, you will be paired with one or more members of our core software development team and take direct ownership of a project that meaningfully advances our team's capabilities and products.

If you have a strong foundation in math, theory, and software development, and you want to help build the next generation of autonomy algorithms and bring them into real products, we would like to hear from you.

Areas of Responsibility

• Design and build robust replay and analysis systems that let engineers inspect and reproduce recorded autonomy behavior, with fine-grained control over system state, perception outputs, and decision-making across the stack.

• Develop scalable infrastructure for automated testing and failure triage, expanding simulation and log-driven test coverage while speeding up root-cause analysis through automated log processing and diagnostics.

• Work at the interface between autonomy software and core robotics middleware, defining clear APIs, data contracts, and performance requirements for messaging, state propagation, and coordination across subsystems, while partnering with downstream teams on implementation and integration.

• Design and implement high-quality developer infrastructure and tools that prioritize reliability, performance, and usability, enabling rapid iteration, safe experimentation, and sustained velocity across the autonomy organization.

What You'll Do

• Lead the design and implementation of scalable tools used across autonomy development and testing workflows.

• Collaborate with autonomy, QA, and infrastructure teams to gather requirements, align on priorities, and deliver impactful tooling.

• Build tools that streamline stages of the robotics development process.

• Take ownership of internal services from concept through deployment and monitoring.

• Contribute to the long-term vision and roadmap for developer tools that improve debugging efficiency, test coverage, and system understanding.

Qualifications

• Proficiency in C++ and Python, with a strong grasp of performance-sensitive and multi-threaded systems.

• Experience with simulation frameworks, time-synchronized data systems, or state-machine-driven applications.

• Familiarity with structured data visualization, log processing, or developer tooling design.

• Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams.

• Comfort in a fast-paced environment where requirements change and priorities shift.

Bonus Experience

• Experience building performance-sensitive systems (profiling, multithreading, real-time constraints) in robotics, aerospace, automotive, or similar domains.

• Exposure to robotics, simulation, or physics engines.

• Background in telemetry systems, log ingestion pipelines, or automated test environments.

• Front-end skills in modern web frameworks (such as React, TypeScript, Three.js, or Plotly) with a focus on data interaction and visualization.

• Familiarity with distributed systems or cloud-hosted services that support internal tools and customer applications.

At Skydio, we believe diversity drives innovation. We are building a multidisciplinary environment that uses diverse perspectives to solve complex problems, and we are committed to an inclusive culture.

Qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local anti-discrimination laws.

For positions in the United States, Skydio, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.