Embedded Software Engineer – Intern

What We Do

Gecko Robotics is helping the world’s most important organizations ensure the availability, reliability, and sustainability of critical infrastructure. Gecko’s complete and connected solutions combine wall-climbing robots, industry-leading sensors, and an AI-powered data platform to provide customers 

with a unique window into the current and future health of their physical assets. This enables real-time decision making to increase the efficiency and safety of operations, promote mission readiness, and protect the environment and civilization from the effects of infrastructure failure.

Gecko Robotics is currently hiring interns for Summer 2025. Applications for other terms will not be considered at this time. 

A minimum commitment of 10-12 weeks is required for this position. Our tentative intern start dates are  May 27th and June 16th of 2025. This internship will be in-person and based out of our Pittsburghoffice.

Role at a Glance

Gecko is seeking Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Computer Science students who are excited to get hands on designing embedded systems.  In this role you will drive a project to enhance or extend Gecko’s embedded robotics toolkit. Internship projects may include contributing to new robot builds, researching and developing prototypes for future capabilities, and developing test infrastructure and automation .You will design, implement, test, and deploy software and firmware for real-time distributed systems. You will also collaborate with engineers from other disciplines (electrical / mechanical / software) to bring-up and troubleshoot complex systems.

Gecko engineers work in a hands-on, fast-paced environment. We’re seeking highly self-motivated individuals who thrive in a small company environment and are passionate about developing great products, solving challenging problems, and seeing the impact of their work.

What You Will Do 

• Work with hardware design engineers to implement and test microcontroller firmware for a variety of applications including such as system control and monitoring, peripheral I/O, device drivers, power management, and motion control.

• Explore new technologies or capabilities that enhance or extend Gecko’s suite of robots.

• Take ownership of your project and drive it through multiple  iterations of the development cycle (design / implementation / integration).

• Work across a range of technologies domains from microcontroller firmware to embedded Linux and higher-level software integration.

• Create test automation to validate your designs.

• Create documentation for your designs, analysis, and testing to share the results with the team.

• Develop embedded Linux software services for robotics applications.

• Collaborate with and receive mentorship from senior team members to brainstorm ideas.

• In addition to your main project, you may have opportunities to help with larger team projects and contribute directly to production robot code.

• Work cross-functionally with hardware, integration, software, and mechanical engineers hands-on in the lab to test and troubleshoot robots.

About You

Required Skills

• Working towards a BS/BA in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field.

• Experience in design, analysis, and debugging of firmware for distributed electronic systems and electromechanical systems.

• Experience developing Linux-based embedded software systems.

• Intermediate proficiency in embedded C.

• Fluent in software fundamentals including software design and maintainability.

• Experience with embedded build toolchains and debuggers.

• Ability to read and interpret PCBA schematics to develop and troubleshoot firmware.

• Ability to perform ad-hoc data analysis using tools such as Jupyter and Python.

• Demonstrated ability to document designs using UML statecharts, block diagrams, sequence diagrams, etc.

• Attention to detail shown through continuous improvements and following best practices within the team, and throughout the organization.

• Ability to work well and integrate with electrical engineers.

Preferred Skills

• Working towards a MS/MSE  in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field.

• 1+ years of Embedded Software experience.

• 1+ years developing scripts for build support, automation, and software testing in a common language such as Python.

• Familiarity with inter-process communication (IPC) middleware for embedded software services.

• Familiarity with concurrent embedded systems using stateful components.

• Experience working closely with electrical engineers to troubleshoot system issues by analyzing schematics and testing boards using standard lab equipment.

• Experience using software infrastructure tools such as Docker, Git, Make, CMake, and Ninja.

• Prior experience developing Yocto-based systems.

• Prior experience developing FreeRTOS or Zephyr to implement a concurrent real-time system.

• Familiarity with design for robust and reliable systems.

• Familiarity with embedded systems deployment.

• Familiarity with C++ or Rust.

• Familiarity with STM32 microcontrollers.

• Familiarity with ROS2.

• Familiarity with the NVIDIA Jetson and Tegra platforms and SDKs.

• Familiarity with Jira and Confluence or other project planning and documentation tools.

Who We Are

At Gecko, our people are our greatest investment. In addition to competitive compensation packages, we offer company equity, 401(k) matching, gender-neutral parental leave, full medical, dental, and vision insurance, mental health and wellness support, ongoing professional development, family planning assistance, and flexible paid time off. 

Gecko values collaboration, innovation, and partnership, and we believe we do our best work when we’re together in person. We’re an office-first culture but understand that sometimes you may need to work from home. Many people are in the office five days a week, others need a bit more flexibility. Ultimately, we care about the outcomes we achieve - and creating a culture of autonomy and trust that enables that impact.

Gecko is committed to creating a culture of inclusion and belonging, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  We believe it is our collective responsibility to uphold these values and encourage candidates from all backgrounds to join us in our mission to protect today’s infrastructure and give form to tomorrow’s. All qualified applicants will be treated with respect and receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, uniform service, veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic per federal, state, or local law. If you are passionate about what you do and want to use your talents to support our critical mission, we’d love to hear from you.