Software Engineering Intern

About Taara

Born at X, Google’s Moonshot Factory, Taara is on a mission to connect billions of people lacking abundant and affordable internet today by pioneering the way we use light to deliver faster, cheaper, more reliable connectivity. We are bringing groundbreaking wireless optical communication and photonics chip technologies to the world to bridge the digital divide.

Joining Taara allows you to do the best work of your life as part of a multidisciplinary team of experts in optics, software, and hardware—all collaborating to solve the hardest connectivity challenges on a global scale. If you want to tackle problems that matter and build tools with real-world impact, we would love to meet you.

About the Role

As a Software Engineering Intern at Taara, you will support high-impact projects focused on improving the performance, deployment, and visibility of our global network of optical terminals. You won’t just be writing code; you will be prototyping and de-risking the technical feasibility of features that bridge the gap between hardware at the edge and our cloud-based control plane.

You will work closely with experienced engineers to build tools that simplify terminal alignment, create high-fidelity emulators for CI/CD, or develop dashboards that visualize global link performance. This role is ideal for a student who enjoys working at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds.

How you will make 10X Impact

• Interfacing with the Physical World: Develop software that integrates mobile devices and sensors (IMUs, GPS, Cameras) to simplify complex hardware installations and terminal alignment processes.

• Scale through Simulation: Build and refine emulators (like the Lightbridge emulator) to simulate virtual links, enabling more robust CI/CD and stress testing.

• Drive Observability: Contribute to internal visibility tools and dashboards (using React/TypeScript) that display global link KPIs and telemetry data on a world map.

• Data & Control: Help build data collection architectures for IMU and controller data to characterize tracking performance and inform future control strategies.

• Iterate and Prototype: Contribute clean, well-documented prototype code that can move from a "lab experiment" to a field-deployed solution.

What you should have

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s, Master’s degree, or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.

• Strong foundation in software engineering fundamentals (data structures, algorithms, and debugging).

• Programming experience in one or more core languages used at Taara: Golang, Typescript, Python, or C/C++.

• Curiosity, persistence, and a "prototyping" mindset—the ability to take a vague problem and iterate quickly toward a solution.

• Location: Ability to work in the Sunnyvale office at least 3 days per week.

It’d be great if you also had one or more of these

• Embedded Interest: Experience with Linux system software, RTOS, or working with hardware sensors.

• Systems & Networking: Understanding of networking protocols or experience with distributed systems.

• Full-Stack Curiosity: Experience with web technologies (TypeScript, React).

• Cloud Awareness: Familiarity with cloud-based systems (GCP) and data ingestion pipelines (Prometheus, Kafka, Redis).

What we offer

• Competitive salary ($7,000-$11,000/month depending on degree).

• Direct mentorship from industry-leading engineers in a "moonshot" environment.

• Housing assistance may be provided.

• Opportunity to work on technology that has the potential to change how billions of people access the internet.