Swarm Robotics Intern

About EarthSense

Earthsense is an ag‑tech startup developing rugged agricultural robots that perform tasks like planting, monitoring, and fertilizing. Headquartered in University of Illinois’ Research Park, EarthSense combines cutting‑edge autonomy, computer vision, and hardware to create functional robots to help farmers cultivate healthier fields. This tight‑knit team values curiosity, bias for action, and getting their hands dirty.

About the Role

Join Earthsense’s mission‑driven engineering team for the 2025 growing season. As a Swarm Robotics Intern, you will help test, refine, and deploy fleets of autonomous field robots that plant seeds, fertilize, and perform critical monitoring. Over the course of the internship you will gain practical, hands‑on experience with ROS, multi‑robot coordination, and real‑world agricultural operations while making contributions that ship to production.

Responsibilites

Technical
● Write, test, and debug Python/C++ modules for swarm coordination, networking, and mission planning.
● Design a data schema for fleet operations in corn & remote monitoring.
● Analyze field‑run logs to surface connectivity and performance bottlenecks; prototype and validate fixes.

Operational & Field Support
● Participate in robot deployments, calibration, and troubleshooting at on‑field sites near Champaign.
● Document procedures and create how‑to guides for fellow interns and technicians.

Qualifications

● Currently pursuing a BS/MS/PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical/Mechanical
Engineering, or a closely related field.
● Coursework or projects involving ROS/ROS 2, Linux programming, controls, or robotics
systems.
● Experience developing and debugging embedded systems, including hands-on work with microcontrollers (such as the ARM Cortex M0), peripheral interfaces (SPI, I2C, UART), and integrating wireless communication modules like LoRa.
● Proficient in Python and/or C++; comfortable with Git version control.
● Able to work outdoors for short periods of time.
● High agency, high independence.

Nice-to-Haves

● Robotics club, competition team, or other robotics experience.
● Experience with LoRA communications.
● Exposure to agriculture, agronomy, or outdoor robotics environments.

Internship Logistics

● Schedule: Over the summer this is a fulltime job (40 hrs/week), however during the school year our interns work part time.
● On‑boarding & Mentorship: Intern will sit directly next to the people you are working on the product with. You will work together on a daily basis and solve hard problems together.

To apply, please submit your résumé and a brief cover letter highlighting some of your previous work to antony@earthsense.co.