Embedded Software Intern

About the internship

About the companyOrbitAID Aerospace is building the foundation for a new era of on-orbit servicing and refueling, enabling satellites to operate longer, maneuver more freely, and deliver greater value in space. At the core of this vision is the development of standardized docking and refueling technologies and a future network of orbital fuel stations, transforming how spacecraft are designed, launched, and sustained in orbit. Our long-term goal is to make space operations more flexible, resilient, and sustainable where satellites are serviced, upgraded, and refueled rather than replaced. We are a small, driven team that values strong engineering fundamentals, ownership, and hands-on problem solving. At OrbitAID, youll work closely across disciplines, move quickly from concept to hardware and software, and contribute directly to building the space infrastructure that will power the next generation of missions.Role OverviewThe Embedded Software Intern Satellite Systems supports the development and testing of onboard flight and avionics firmware for satellite subsystems. This role provides hands-on experience in low-level embedded programming, real-time systems, and hardwaresoftware integration for space-grade embedded platforms. This role will be paid/unpaid depending on the experience. Key Responsibilities

• Develop, debug, and maintain firmware for satellite onboard computers and subsystem controllers based on ARM, RISC-V, or similar architectures
• Write and test device drivers and Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) code for spacecraft peripherals and sensors.
• Implement and validate communication interfaces and protocols commonly used in satellites, including UART, SPI, I2C, CAN, Ethernet, and LVDS
• Support integration and configuration of RTOS environments (FreeRTOS, RTEMS) or work with Embedded Linux for payload or avionics processors
• Participate in code reviews, maintain clear documentation, and manage firmware repositories using Git-based workflows
• Support hardware bring-up, board-level testing, and subsystem integration using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and multimeters
• Assist with debugging issues observed during integration, environmental testing, or system-level simulationsFirmware / Software Knowledge
• Strong proficiency in C programming for embedded systems (mandatory)
• Solid understanding of embedded C concepts, including:
• Interrupt handling and ISR design
• Volatile usage and concurrency considerations
• Bitwise operations and pointer arithmetic
• Familiarity with bare-metal programming and register-level access to microcontrollers
• Understanding of RTOS concepts relevant to flight software, including task scheduling, synchronization, and timing determinism