Robotics Firmware Intern — Real-Time Embedded Systems

Proception Inc.; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 53,568 - 80,352; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mentorship from senior engineers

Hands-on lab access

Opportunity for full-time return offer

Job summary

Proception Inc. is seeking a Firmware Engineering Intern to build low-level real-time firmware for robotic hands. You will work with microcontrollers, sensors, and motor drivers, contributing to high-performance actuation and sensing pipelines.

The role offers mentorship from senior engineers, hands-on access to advanced labs, and potential for a full-time return offer based on performance. This internship spans 6–12 months and is based in Palo Alto, CA.

Qualifications

• Pursuing BS/MS in robotics or related field.
• Experience with Rust or C/C++ for embedded systems.
• Hands-on experience with microcontrollers (STM32, ESP32, Nordic).
• Familiarity with SPI, I2C, UART, CAN/CAN-FD.
• Understanding of PID, timing, interrupts, and real-time constraints.
• Ability to read schematics and use basic lab equipment.
• Strong debugging and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with embedded Rust (Embassy), FreeRTOS, or bare-metal development.

Responsibilities

• Develop and test firmware for sensing, actuation, and closed-loop control on embedded platforms.
• Bring up new hardware: motor drivers, IMUs, encoders, tactile sensors, communication modules.
• Implement drivers, interrupt handlers, DMA pipelines, and low-latency data acquisition loops.
• Work with senior engineers to tune control loops for robotic hand actuation.
• Assist in building hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) setups for characterization and automated testing.
• Participate in debugging sessions involving real hardware, scopes, analyzers, and firmware logs.
• Collaborate with AI, perception, and mechanical teams to validate system performance.

Skills

Rust/C/C++ for embedded

Debugging/problem solving

Schematic reading & lab tools

Team collaboration

PID and real-time concepts

Education

BS/MS in Robotics/EE/CE or related

Tools

STM32/ESP32/Nordic microcontrollers

SPI/I2C/UART/CAN/CAN-FD

Oscilloscope/Multimeter/Logic Analyzer

Embedded Rust/FreeRTOS/Bare-metal

ROS/ROS2 & Python testing

Job description

Proception Inc. is seeking a Firmware Engineering Intern to build low-level real-time firmware for robotic hands. You will work with microcontrollers, sensors, and motor drivers, contributing to high-performance actuation and sensing pipelines.

The role offers mentorship from senior engineers, hands-on access to advanced labs, and potential for a full-time return offer based on performance. This internship spans 6–12 months and is based in Palo Alto, CA.