Fall 2026

Electrical Engineer Intern

Posted on 7/4/2026

Pyka

Pyka

51-200 employees

Autonomous electric airplanes for crop spraying

Compensation Overview

$30/hr

Alameda, CA, USA

In Person

On-site in Alameda, California; in-person internship.

Category
Electrical Engineering (1)
Required Skills
Oscilloscope
C/C++
Data Analysis
Requirements
  • Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field
  • Coursework or project experience in: Embedded systems, Power electronics, motor control, or control systems
  • Familiarity with basic electronics lab equipment (oscilloscope, power supply, multimeter)
  • Exposure to C or C++ (coursework or personal projects is fine)
  • Ability to work on-site in Alameda, CA
Responsibilities
  • Assist with schematic capture and PCB layout for embedded and power electronics systems
  • Support component selection and BOM creation under engineer supervision
  • Help assemble, bring up, and test PCBs in the lab
  • Run bench tests, collect data, and help analyze results
  • Support debugging of electrical and embedded systems issues
  • Assist with documentation including test procedures, results, and design notes
  • Collaborate with Mechanical, Software, and Test teams during integration and testing
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with schematic capture or PCB layout tools (Altium, KiCad, Eagle, etc.)
  • Exposure to motor control concepts (FOC, PWM, inverters—even at a conceptual level)
  • Hands-on experience from student teams (Formula SAE, robotics, drones, solar car, etc.)
  • Curiosity, strong problem-solving instincts, and a willingness to ask questions

Pyka builds autonomous electric airplanes designed to perform all flight phases without human pilots, from taxiing to takeoff, flight, and landing. Their aircraft are optimized for efficiency, using less power than an electric car and featuring few moving parts to lower maintenance costs. They serve the agricultural sector, offering aerial crop-spraying and other precision applications, enabled by onboard sensors and software that let aircraft fly close to the ground, avoid obstacles, and apply materials accurately. The business model includes selling and leasing aircraft plus ongoing maintenance and support, with revenue also coming from service contracts. A key technical differentiator is their Brushless DC (BLDC) motor controller, which enhances propulsion performance and reliability. Pyka’s goal is to provide safe, efficient, and cost-effective autonomous electric aviation for farming and related applications, expanding the use of sustainable, autonomous air operations.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Series B

Total Funding

$95.4M

Headquarters

Alameda, California

Founded

2017

Your Connections

People at Pyka who can refer or advise you

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Pyka secured FAA authorization for Pelican 2 and received a landmark order for 20 units in Brazil.
  • Pyka's $40M Series B funding accelerates development of electric autonomous aircraft for agriculture and cargo transport.
  • Pyka's zero-emission partnership with FoundationCCC reduces over 1,000 metric tons of CO2 while advancing clean tech workforce development.

What critics are saying

  • FAA may revoke Pelican 2 commercial usage due to unresolved software bugs in 12–18 months with high impact.
  • Enerq's cheaper autonomous crop sprayer priced 22% lower could erode 40–60% of Brazilian market share in 9–15 months.
  • US Army may deny DropShip operational contract after failed field test proving unproven reliability in contested environments within 18–24 months.

What makes Pyka unique

  • Pyka delivers fully autonomous low-altitude precision airdrop within 50 feet of target across 2,000 miles.
  • Pyka's aircraft use less power than an electric car with minimal moving parts for cost efficiency.
  • Pyka combines commercial agricultural operations with defense logistics in contested environments using one heavy-lift platform.

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Benefits

Competitive salary & equity

Medical, dental, & vision insurance

FSA with employer matching

401k

Paid holidays

Unlimited PTO

Free catered lunch & snacks

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

0%

2 year growth

-1%
sUAS News
Oct 13th, 2025
Pyka Expands into Defense Sector with DropShip UAS Platform

Pyka, a leading robotics company pioneering mission-ready autonomous aircraft, today announced DropShip, a next-generation unmanned aerial system (UAS).

PR Newswire
Feb 10th, 2025
Pyka Unveils Pelican 2: The World'S Largest Autonomous Crop Protection Aircraft

Pyka has secured FAA authorization for commercial operation of Pelican 2 in the United States, making this the second time Pyka has gained a groundbreaking commercial approval for its uncrewed aerial system (UAS) products. Pelican 2 is the largest UAS ever approved for commercial use by the FAA, followed only by the original Pelican. This milestone reinforces Pyka's leadership in heavy lift commercial UAS in the U.S. and globally. In addition to its new product line, Pyka has secured a landmark order for 20 aircraft in Brazil, further solidifying its presence in one of the world's largest agricultural markets. This expansion will enable large-scale autonomous aerial application operations in Brazil, boosting efficiency and delivering unprecedented cost savings for the nation's growers

Webrazzi
Sep 24th, 2024
Pyka secures $40M for electric planes

Pyka, a developer of electric and autonomous aircraft, has secured $40 million in a Series B funding round led by Obvious Ventures, with participation from Piva Capital, Prelude Ventures, Metaplanet Holdings, and Y Combinator. This brings Pyka's total funding to $88 million. The new investment will accelerate the development of their aircraft. Pyka's aircraft are primarily used in agriculture for spraying and are also being developed for cargo transport.

Travel And Tour World
Sep 23rd, 2024
Pyka Secures $40 Million Funding to Boost Ambitions in Electric Aviation Technology

In partnership with Sierra Nevada Company, Pyka is introducing RUMRUNNER, a modified version of Pelican Cargo, to U.S. Department of Defense customers for contested logistics operations.

TechCrunch
Sep 23rd, 2024
Pyka fields interest from defense as $40M round goes to scaling up its electric autonomous planes | TechCrunch

Though it briefly worked on a passenger plane, the company decided after raising some money in 2022 that a cargo variant of the Pelican was more practical in the short term.