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Autonomy Engineer Intern, Reinforcement Learning, 2027 (Zurich)

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors to first responders, soldiers in battlefield scenarios, and beyond.About the role:Skydio builds the world’s most advanced autonomous drones used across inspection, public safety, defense, cinematography, and more. Your research won’t languish in a paper: it will fly, shaping how pilots and operators complete real missions in complex environments. Develop and deploy reinforcement learning (and adjacent policy-learning methods) that make Skydio aircraft plan, navigate, and control themselves more intelligently, safely, reliably, and efficiently across our ecosystem: handheld apps, ground control, cloud autonomy services, and fleet workflows.How you'll make an impact:Navigation & avoidance in the wild: Train policies that adapt online to cluttered 3D scenes (forests, bridges, urban canyons), complementing our stack for robust obstacle avoidance and dynamic goal-seeking.RL-augmented planning: Fuse learned cost shaping / value functions with trajectory optimization for smooth, agile flight with tight safety envelopes and mission constraints.Sim to Real at scale: Build scalable datasets and training loops with Isaac Lab, domain randomization, residual learning, and safety filters; validate on real drones weekly.Human-in-the-loop shared control: Learn assistive policies that blend pilot intent, autonomy priors, and uncertainty-aware behaviors for intuitive control handoffs.Fleet & multi-agent: Explore decentralized coordination for coverage, pursuit, and collaborative mapping with minimal comms.What makes this internship different:Real hardware cadence: Prototype in sim, then flight test on production-ready aircraft and edge compute. Your work is meant to make a difference in the real world, not just in simulation.Safety-first learning: We pair RL with formal constraints, estimation of uncertainty, and conservative action filters for dependable deployment in human environments.Cross-disciplinary mentorship: Collaborate with perception, mapping, controls, and product teams to close the loop from research to field ops.What makes you a strong fit:PhD student in Robotics, Machine Learning, Controls, or related field.Strong fundamentals in RL, control theory, and motion planning; comfort with safety/robustness concepts.Proficient in Python (PyTorch/JAX/Ray RLlib) and at least one of C++ or CUDA.Hands-on experience with robotics simulation (Isaac Lab/MuJoCo/PyBullet) and sim2real techniques.Experience training/deploying policies for navigation, manipulation, or locomotion on real robots or autonomous vehicles.Nice-to-Haves:Publications (CoRL, ICRA, IROS, RSS, NeurIPS).Experience with onboard inference optimization (TensorRT, quantization, sparsity).Familiarity with modern policy learning beyond vanilla RL: diffusion policies, IL/BC, offline RL, model-based RL.Experience with multi-agent RL or distributed training.Compensation: The hourly rate for this position is $47/hr for Undergrad, $53/hr for Masters, and $70/hr for PhD students*. Compensation will vary based on factors, including skill level, proficiencies, transferable knowledge, and experience. In addition to base salary, Skydio full-time employees are eligible to enroll in our benefit plans and take advantage of a variety of incentives and stipends. *Compensation for certain positions may vary based on the position's location.#LI-DK1At Skydio we believe that diversity drives innovation. We have created a multidisciplinary environment that embraces the power of diverse perspectives to create elegant solutions for complex problems. We are committed to growing our network of people, programs, and resources to nurture an inclusive culture.Qualified applicants will 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 located in the United States of America, Skydio, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit https://www.e-verify.gov/Find more English Speaking Jobs in Switzerland on Arbeitnow

Zurich

Autonomy Engineer Intern, Simulation & Robotics, 2027 (Zurich)

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors to first responders, soldiers in battlefield scenarios, and beyond.About the Role:The core of our system is the computer vision algorithms that allow drones to understand the world around them. You will architect and implement the algorithms that run on every drone powered by Skydio as part of a world class computer vision and deep learning team with researchers who have pushed the state of the art in academia and industry.As a Research Intern, you will be paired up with one or more members of our core software development team, assuming direct ownership of a project that meaningfully advances the capabilities of our team and products.If you have a strong foundation in math, theory, and software development and you are interested in directly contributing to the development of the next generation of autonomy algorithms and pushing them into real products, we would love to hear from you. Areas of Responsibility:Core Simulator Architecture: Design, implement, and evolve the foundational architecture of the Skydio Simulator, ensuring it scales across vehicle types, environments, and use cases.Physics and Dynamics: Improve and extend physics models governing vehicle motion, interactions with the environment, and dynamic agents.Sensor and Hardware Simulation: Build high-fidelity simulations of cameras, IMUs, and other onboard components, including timing, noise characteristics, and hardware behavior.Autonomy Stack Integration: Run and validate the full Skydio autonomy stack in simulation, ensuring consistency between simulated and real-world behavior.Feature Development on Top of the Core: Implement simulator capabilities that unlock new workflows for customers and internal autonomy engineers, from training scenarios to advanced testing modes.Performance and Fidelity: Profile, optimize, and improve simulator performance while continuously pushing realism and accuracy.What You’ll Do:Develop core simulator components in C++ and Python, working close to real-time constraints.Collaborate with autonomy, perception, and controls engineers to align simulation behavior with real-world systems.Debug complex interactions between physics, sensors, autonomy logic, and rendering.Help shape the long-term technical direction of the simulator as both a product and an internal platform.Contribute to documentation and shared understanding of how the simulator works internally.Qualifications:Strong software engineering experience with C++ and Python.Experience building complex systems where performance, determinism, or correctness matter.Comfort reasoning about time-synchronized systems, state machines, or real-time execution.Ability to work in a large, evolving codebase with multiple stakeholders.Interest in robotics, simulation, or physical systems (prior robotics experience is a plus, not a requirement).Bonus Experience:Robotics, simulation, game engines, or real-time systems.Physics engines, sensor modeling, or hardware abstraction layers.Multithreaded or low-latency system design.Experience debugging systems that span software and physical behavior.Compensation: The hourly rate for this position is $47/hr for Undergrad, $53/hr for Masters, and $70/hr for PhD students*. Compensation will vary based on factors, including skill level, proficiencies, transferable knowledge, and experience. In addition to base salary, Skydio full-time employees are eligible to enroll in our benefit plans and take advantage of a variety of incentives and stipends. *Compensation for certain positions may vary based on the position's location.#LI-DK1At Skydio we believe that diversity drives innovation. We have created a multidisciplinary environment that embraces the power of diverse perspectives to create elegant solutions for complex problems. We are committed to growing our network of people, programs, and resources to nurture an inclusive culture.Qualified applicants will 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 located in the United States of America, Skydio, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit https://www.e-verify.gov/Find more English Speaking Jobs in Switzerland on Arbeitnow

Zurich

Autonomy Engineer Intern, Autonomy Infrastructure, Systems and Tools, 2027 (Zurich)

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors to first responders, soldiers in battlefield scenarios, and beyond.About the Role:The core of our system is the computer vision algorithms that allow drones to understand the world around them. You will architect and implement the algorithms that run on every drone powered by Skydio as part of a world class computer vision and deep learning team with researchers who have pushed the state of the art in academia and industry.As a Research Intern, you will be paired up with one or more members of our core software development team, assuming direct ownership of a project that meaningfully advances the capabilities of our team and products.If you have a strong foundation in math, theory, and software development and you are interested in directly contributing to the development of the next generation of autonomy algorithms and pushing them into real products, we would love to hear from you. Areas of Responsibility:Design and build robust replay and analysis systems that enable engineers to inspect and reproduce recorded autonomy behavior, with fine-grained control over system state, perception outputs, and decision-making at every stage of the stack.Develop scalable infrastructure for automated testing and failure triage, expanding our simulation and log-driven test coverage while accelerating root-cause analysis through automated log processing and diagnostics.Operate 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 closely with downstream teams to support their 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 partner effectively with cross-functional teams.Comfort operating in a fast-paced environment where requirements evolve 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 / physics engines.Background in telemetry systems, log ingestion pipelines, or automated test environments.Front-end development skills in modern web frameworks (e.g., React, TypeScript, Three.js, Plotly) with a focus on data interaction and visualization.Familiarity with distributed systems or cloud-hosted services used to support internal tools and customer applications.Compensation: The hourly rate for this position is $47/hr for Undergrad, $53/hr for Masters, and $70/hr for PhD students*. Compensation will vary based on factors, including skill level, proficiencies, transferable knowledge, and experience. In addition to base salary, Skydio full-time employees are eligible to enroll in our benefit plans and take advantage of a variety of incentives and stipends. *Compensation for certain positions may vary based on the position's location.#LI-DK1At Skydio we believe that diversity drives innovation. We have created a multidisciplinary environment that embraces the power of diverse perspectives to create elegant solutions for complex problems. We are committed to growing our network of people, programs, and resources to nurture an inclusive culture.Qualified applicants will 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 located in the United States of America, Skydio, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit https://www.e-verify.gov/Find Jobs in Switzerland on Arbeitnow

Zurich