Embedded Software Engineer Intern (Hybrid)

Punch Through; Minneapolis (MN); Hybrid; USD 57,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hourly internship pay

401k

Sick time

Jury duty leave

Bereavement leave

Commuter benefits

Offsite company trips

Fist bump awards

Lunch & happy hours

Lunch & learns

Book club

Gym membership

Job summary

Punch Through is a design and engineering firm in Minneapolis, MN, offering a Spring/Fall Embedded Software Internship for students in CS/EE with an embedded focus. The role is hybrid, with in-office days on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, starting part-time in spring and transitioning to full-time in summer.

As an Associate Embedded Software Engineer, you’ll develop for connected products, learn across projects, and contribute to architecture, testing, and client communication.

Qualifications

• Pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or similar with embedded emphasis.
• Desire to learn and strong curiosity for embedded software.
• Ability to intern 1 full year before undergraduate graduation.
• Commit to 40 hours/week in summer and 15–20 hours/week during school.

Responsibilities

• Develop embedded software for connected products.
• Learn new engineering topics and solve problems.
• Contribute to and review architecture design for embedded software development projects.
• Deliver status updates to clients’ engineers and stakeholders.

Skills

C

Python

Embedded software

Bluetooth LE

Git

Agile

Testing

Debug hardware

Communication

Education

Sophomore or Junior in Computer/Electrical Engineering or Computer Science

Tools

Arduino

Raspberry Pi

Job description

Punch Through is a design and engineering firm specializing in connected medical device development. For more than 15 years, we’ve helped innovators bring secure, reliable, and compliant products to market, building technology that improves lives and creates lasting impact. Take a look at our website, and you’ll see what we mean.

Punch Through is growing, with a variety of medical and non-medical projects in progress and new ones kicking off soon. This is where you come in. We are looking to hire a student studying Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a similar technical field with an emphasis on embedded software for an internship.

As an Associate Embedded Software Engineer at Punch Through, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to a variety of projects, from quick-turn proofs of concept to multi-year development programs, designing and building solutions from the ground up, all the way through to launch and scale. You have the ability to start part-time during the Spring semester, allowing you to dig in when you start full-time in the Summer.

We know you are a student and you haven't yet started your professional career. What we look at is beyond your academic qualifications—we look at your grit and passion for learning. We want to hear about your personal or extracurricular projects and the problems that you’ve solved. We’d especially love to hear about projects involving embedded software on devices such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi, or other software passion projects.

This position is hybrid. Our hybrid positions are for those located in the Minneapolis, MN, area. We have in-office days on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and in-person team collaboration when necessary. The in-office days offer ample opportunities to connect with your peers through provided lunch, afternoon happy hour, and more!

Whether in the office or at home, we offer desk setups to allow you to work comfortably wherever you are.

We participate in the E-Verify hiring process. To learn more please see E-Verify Overview

Responsibilities

• Develop embedded software for connected products.
• Learn new engineering topics and solve problems.
• Contribute to and review architecture design for embedded software development projects.
• Deliver verbal and written status updates to clients’ engineers and stakeholders, and incorporate feedback into your next development iteration.
• Contribute to and review design and product requirement specifications.
• Demonstrate independence and a decreasing need for work direction to succeed in engineering tasks.
• Remain ego-free, willing to learn from other team engineers, and ask for help when the need arises.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of best practices and processes within the software engineering team.
• Contribute to Punch Through culture by proudly being yourself and striving to be great today and better tomorrow.

Requirements

• Desire and curiosity to learn new things.
• Sophomore or Junior college student pursuing a Bachelor's degree program in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or another technical field with an embedded software emphasis.
• Ability to intern for a minimum of a full year before undergraduate graduation.
• Ability to commit to working 40 hours/week during the summer and a minimum of 15-20 hours/week during school.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively discuss complex ideas in a simple, straightforward manner.
• Experience with C.
• Experience with embedded development for microcontrollers.
• Experience with team software development utilizing Git, or other tools for team development within a shared codebase.
• You are definitely the one we are looking for if you:
• Are a “doer” who can code independently with direction from others, but also raise questions when you uncover them.
• Are driven by curiosity and view collaboration as a learning opportunity.
• Understand how to communicate progress clearly and proactively ask for help when encountering a challenge.
• Have some experience in embedded-related projects outside of normal coursework.
• Have experience writing or working with automated testing.
• Have experience with Python.
• Have experience with a variety of toolchains and development environments.
• Have experience with Bluetooth Low Energy or other wireless protocols.
• Are familiar with Agile software development processes.
• Have experience interacting with clients.
• Have experience debugging hardware using logic analyzer, oscilloscope, etc.

Perks & Benefits

• $27.50/hour paid internship
• 401k
• Sick Time
• Jury Duty Leave
• Bereavement Leave
• Commuter Benefits
• Company Trips: All employees come together twice a year for an offsite. Enjoy meeting your remote colleagues, team building, continuous improvement opportunities, and a lot of fun!
• Fist Bump Awards: Nominate your fellow team members who have gone above and beyond to be recognized for their contributions, and the company will provide them with an experience (ex., a weekend away at a cabin!) as a thank you!
• Company-sponsored Lunch & Happy hours: We offer in-office lunch on Tuesdays & Wednesdays. Each Wednesday we have an afternoon happy hour to spend some social time with your co-workers.
• Lunch & Learns: Expand your skill set by teaching and learning with your peers.
• Book Club: Discuss and share your thoughts on the book employees choose each month.
• Onsite Gym Membership & Secured Bike Room: Fitness and commuting to work is easy with a free gym membership and a secure bike room to store your vehicle.

Our Culture Statement

At Punch Through, our culture is the foundation of everything we do. We’ve intentionally built a work environment that supports our people—both in and outside the workplace—so you can do your best work, grow your skills, and thrive as an individual. That support doesn’t just benefit our team; it enables us to deliver better results for our clients because great products don’t happen without a great team behind them.

Here, you’ll work in an environment rooted in empathy and understanding. We understand that life outside of work can be unpredictable, and we make it possible to show up as yourself without penalty. You’ll know the “why” behind decisions because we’re transparent about how they’re made, and you’ll have the freedom to own your work without being micromanaged. If something doesn’t go as planned, it’s treated as a learning opportunity, not a reason to point fingers. And when challenges come up, you won’t face them alone; the team rallies to solve them together.

We also know how to stay focused without losing our sense of fun. Creativity and curiosity are built into the job, helping us solve problems in smarter ways and making the process more enjoyable. We celebrate wins and make space to connect as people, not just coworkers. That balance of focus and enjoyment is a big part of why people stay here—the work matters, the team has your back, and the day-to-day experience is sustainable and rewarding.

All About You

Skills: You are an engineer who can develop firmware and embedded software for connected products. At Punch Through, this goes beyond just turning specifications into code. As a design services company, we work with clients at all phases of the product life cycle. This means your work will likely touch architecture design and specification development as well. Regardless of what you’re working on, it should be approached with careful consideration of engineering tradeoffs between technical fitness, scope, and schedule in order to make decisions that best serve the client’s needs.

Communication: At Punch Through, we believe in transparency, not only as a company, but as an approach for working with clients. We value clear, honest, and frequent communication. As an engineer, you’ll contribute to and potentially lead the communication of technical details and project direction with our client stakeholders.

Curiosity: We believe that if you aren’t curious about how the world works or you don’t challenge expectations, then you will never grow. Our team members relate with each other in large part due to our passion for learning and growing.

Independence: You’ll work as a developer on large challenging embedded software projects, so you must be motivated to operate and work independently. With that said, we are huge believers in collaborative efforts, so you can expect to work with an engineering mentor who will provide guidance and act as a resource for support and assistance when necessary.

Collaboration: We know that when we work together, everything is better. At Punch Through, collaboration is our preferred approach. As an engineer, you’ll work with teammates from a variety of disciplines to accomplish a range of tasks. This includes technical tasks such as evaluating engineering and architectural approaches for systems that include components from embedded electronics to firmware to front end.

Growth: Be great today, be better tomorrow. One of the unifying characteristics of the Punch Through team is a drive for continuous personal improvement. As an engineer at Punch Through, you’ll work in an environment that leads to technical and non-technical growth, both organically through work and communication with others, as well as through a structured, focused approach that involves mentorship with a senior engineer.

Part of creating this environment of growth is making sure people feel comfortable to ask questions and make mistakes. As such, all our engineers strive to be ego-free and focus on working together with the team and clients, not against. Punch Through is a place where people feel comfortable saying what’s on their mind. All team members are encouraged to share their thoughts, regardless of whether it is specifically related to their position. This includes contributing to the continuous improvement of best practices and processes within the software engineering team and participating in the growth of the overall company culture.