During your internship at Wingtra, you will be fully onboarded into a small, highly cross-functional team working closely with the CTO. The team explores new technologies, prototypes product ideas, and turns early technical concepts into working systems that can be tested on real drones, real hardware, and real customer-relevant workflows. See our Search and Rescue solution WingtraSAR.ai as one of the many projects we work on.
This broad engineering role is for those who enjoy end-to-end building. Projects may involve firmware, drone hardware, electronics, mechanical prototyping, web tools, computer vision, machine learning, data analysis, or cloud applications. You do not need expertise in all areas; we prioritize curiosity, agency, engineering taste, and a proven ability to solve problems through building.
The starting date is ASAP if possible (or up to September 2026), and the duration will be 6 months or longer.
Responsibilities
- Prototype and test systems integrating software, electronics, mechanics, and drone hardware.
- Develop firmware and embedded software for microcontrollers and peripherals.
- Handle hardware tasks including soldering, wiring, debugging, and assembling test rigs.
- Design mechanical parts and enclosures using CAD and rapid prototyping tools.
- Build internal tools and full-stack applications using Python, TypeScript, or React.
- Evaluate CV/ML approaches for automation, mapping, and drone-related data processing.
- Contribute maintainable code to existing codebases and adapt open-source components.
As a generalist engineering intern, you will work with and assist highly driven and experienced engineers to achieve ambitious goals. You may contribute across several of the following areas, depending on your strengths and the project needs:
Requirements
- Proven track record of building substantial projects independently (hobby, professional, or open-source).
- Self-directed learner comfortable with technical ambiguity and complex debugging.
- Strong engineering judgment focused on reliability over simple demos.
- Proficiency in spoken and written English.
- Degree (in progress or completed) in Robotics, CS, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
We are looking for someone who is highly curious, self-driven, and comfortable working across disciplines.
You should be able to show that you have a:
The strongest candidates will have concrete examples of things they have personally built. We are especially interested in projects that went beyond coursework and involved solving real-world problems, your own or for others, and showed some sustained iteration on it.
Plus
- Firmware / embedded: C/C++, microcontrollers, protocols (CAN, UART, I2C, SPI), and embedded Linux.
- Robotics: PX4, ROS/ROS 2, autopilots, MAVLink, GNSS, and simulation.
- Hardware: Hands-on electronics, soldering, debugging, and test rig assembly.
- Mechanical: CAD design for mounts/enclosures and rapid prototyping (3D printing, CNC).
- Software: Python, C++, TypeScript, Git, and maintainable Linux development.
- Web: Full-stack tools using React, Node.js, and cloud APIs.
- CV/ML: PyTorch, OpenCV, object detection, and edge deployment.
- Data: Log analysis, automation scripts, and large dataset processing.
You do not need experience in all of the areas below. A strong overlap with a few of them, plus high agency and strong learning ability, is more important.
Relevant experience could include:
Skills Required
- Proven track record of building substantial projects independently (hobby, professional, or open-source).
- Self-directed learner comfortable with technical ambiguity and complex debugging.
- Strong engineering judgment focused on reliability over simple demos.
- Proficiency in spoken and written English.
- Degree (in progress or completed) in Robotics, Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
- Curiosity, high agency, and comfortable working across disciplines (software, hardware, mechanical).
- Firmware / embedded experience: C/C++, microcontrollers, protocols (CAN, UART, I2C, SPI), embedded Linux.
- Robotics experience: PX4, ROS/ROS 2, autopilots, MAVLink, GNSS, simulation.
- Hardware skills: electronics, soldering, wiring, debugging, assembling test rigs.
- Mechanical CAD and rapid prototyping (3D printing, CNC).
- Software skills: Python, C++, TypeScript, Git, maintainable Linux development.
- Web/full-stack: React, Node.js, cloud APIs.
- CV/ML: PyTorch, OpenCV, object detection, edge deployment.
- Data skills: log analysis, automation scripts, large dataset processing.
What We Do
Wingtra is the world's leading VTOL drone producer, headquartered in Switzerland. Since its market entry in early 2017, Wingtra has partnered with more than 80 of the biggest surveying equipment dealers across 50+ countries worldwide. Based in the heart of Zurich, Switzerland, Wingtra houses 100+ employees, out of which more than 40 focus on R&D. The majority of Wingtra's engineers are graduates of one of the best science universities in the world, ETH Zurich. The same engineers design and assemble drones in-house and form Wingtra's support team, which is based in Europe and the Americas. Our WingtraOne drone carries best-in-class sensors that collect survey-grade aerial data. This technologically-superior VTOL UAV is used by mapping professionals for applications that range from surveying and mining, to wildlife monitoring. WingtraOne PPK offers an all-in-one solution: broad coverage, brilliant resolution and absolute accuracy down to 1 cm (0.4 in)
