Student Research Assistant- ME #738641219

Jimmy Jazz; Spadra (CA); On-site; USD 24,000 - 35,000; Part time

Job summary

Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises Employment Services is seeking Part-Time Research Assistants for the Simulation and Modeling Grant in the College of Engineering. You will work under supervision with graduate and undergraduate researchers to advance Level 5 autonomous vehicle research.

This role supports lab activities, data processing, sensor integration, and published conference work while aligning with Fall 2026/Spring 2027 academic schedules.

Qualifications

• Graduate and undergraduate students must be enrolled for Fall 2026 and Spring 2027
• Must be full-time students or within a year of graduation
• Open to candidates from all backgrounds and disciplines (special skills may be noted)

Responsibilities

• Must work in the lab 8 hours per week plus 2 hours for group meetings and seminars
• Actively contribute to the lab by completing assignments and helping others
• Document and submit work to team leaders
• Submit research papers to conferences and symposia
• Respond to communications timely and present progress to the group

Skills

C++

Python

OOP

Tools

ROS2

GitHub

MQTT

Job description

• Location 3801 W TEMPLE AVE BLDG 55,FOUNDATION ADMINISTRATION,POMONA, CA, 91768-2557,United States
• Base Pay $21.50 / Hour
• Employee Type Student Assistant

Description

Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises Employment Services

ANNOUNCEMENT OF POSITION VACANCY

SUMMARY

Currently searching for Part-Time Research Assistants to work on the Simulation and Modeling Grant, College of Engineering, under the supervision of your advisor and Dr. Behnam Bahr. This team is composed of graduate and undergraduate researchers dedicated to creating safe, intelligent, and highly capable Level 5 autonomous vehicles. We are looking for highly motivated individuals, who are willing to research, learn, and mentor to join our team. The Funding is from the Department of Education.

This research opportunity can be combined with a Senior Project or a Master’s Thesis/Project under the approval of Dr. Behnam Bahr.

SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU WILL GET TO DO (this is just a small sampling of work variety):

Students will be developing tools and systems for electric vehicles, such that it can reach Level 5 autonomy. We highly encourage interdisciplinary learning. Students are welcome to lead and join a variety of research including:

• Simulating ackerman style vehicles into virtual environments such as Gazebo
• Processing images and point cloud data from Radar, Thermal/IR, Lidar, and Stereo Images
• Researching modular, end-to-end, and hybrid architectures for autonomous driving
• Implementing path planning algorithms for Ackermann vehicles
• Programming sensor fusion, brute-force algorithms, and machine learning to enhance driving capabilities
• Designing automated repair/replacement systems for vehicle parts
• Developing and testing real-time teleoperation of vehicle with VRX Simchair

Responsibilities:

Students

• Must be present and work in the lab 8 hours per week and additional two hours for Group meeting and seminars and workshop participations on Thursdays/Fridays.
• Actively contribute to the lab by completing assignments and helping other students
• Need to document and submit their work to respective team leaders
• Must submit research papers to conferences and symposiums
• Respond to communications in a timely manner
• Be able to present their progress to the group

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Graduate and undergraduate students applying for this position must be enrolled in courses required for their program during Fall 2026 and Spring 2027. Students must also be enrolled as full-time students or be within a year of graduation. Applicants must visit the Ganpat and Manju Center (9-101) before applying and meet with current students before applying for the position.

This position is open to candidates of all backgrounds. Candidates should satisfy at least one specialty in the following categories; however, exceptions will be made for applicants with unique skills beyond those listed in the following categories, (please mention those special skills in the objective or professional summary).

For those interested in Mechanical Design and Analysis:

• Experience designing tools and/or modeling assemblies
• Interest in designing, modifying, and analyzing air/hydraulic/electric suspension systems
• Interest in designing, modifying, and analyzing tire structures and materials, (examples: conversion to a alloys/bamboo/airless/amphibious tires, or range extending hub cap designs)
• Experience testing and tuning closed-loop controls systems for Active Suspension system, etc.

For those interested in Software Development:

• Proficiency in Object Oriented Programming (OOP) for C++ and/or Python
• Interest in developing packages for ROS2
• Experience maintaining Github repositories, tracking issues, and providing fixes
• Proficiency with MQTT if interested in IoT/remote-teleoperation

For those interested in Robotics and Mechatronics:

• Experience building and automating robotic systems. Must be able to reference datasheets for electrical requirements, and able to analyze board schematics.
• Experience integrating a variety of sensors with common communication standards such as I2C, I2S, SPI, CAN, UART, etc.
• Comfortable with a variety of embedded systems such as Arduino, ESP32, PIC, STM, FPGA, Raspberry Pi, Jetson Orin and any equivalent
• Interest in researching forward and inverse kinematics for simulations

For those interested in Marketing and Art:

• Portfolio (proof of work) of any length with drawn art, animation, web design, advertising material, wen design and graphics, etc.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Preference is given to students who have actively contributed to the Autonomous Vehicle Laboratory organization as a club member, followed by those with proven contributions in similar projects including

• Experience programming with ROS2, or any robotics framework equivalent such as RTI
• Experience with virtual environments such as Gazebo, Carla, Foxglove, etc.
• Experience with global/local path planning for non-holonomic systems
• Experience implementing rover and base station systems using GNSS modules
• Experience developing teleoperation software for robotic systems
• Experience developing haptic feedback tools for robotic systems
• Experience with discrete control systems and sensor fusion
• Experience building/designing car parts
• Experience in autonomous vehicle safety and compliance standards
• Experience with wireless technologies such as BLE, Home Assistant, etc.
• Experience with Finite Element Analysis using Ansys
• Experience manufacturing parts and tools, aluminum parts or tool design
• Experience with Multibody Dynamic Software such as Adams
• Experience with front and back-end web development, or iOS/Android app development
• Experience with AI/ML/Deep learning for LLMs, instance segmentation, and ground segmentation, behavioral cloning
• Experience in cybersecurity with Linux systems

About Us:

As the largest employer of students on the Cal Poly Pomona campus, the Foundation offers valuable work experience and hands-on training to approximately 1,500 Cal Poly Pomona students each year. The Foundation offers positions in various fields; whether it is in the area of technology, science, retail, culinary arts, hospitality1500 management, leadership or research grants, these student employees participate in Cal Poly Pomona's learn-by-doing philosophy and acquire practical skills in their designated field of study.

The Foundation also contributes operating support to nearly 1,100 Foundation and scholarship programs every year, including Bronco Athletics and the Norman J. Priest Scholarship. In addition, the Foundation administers grants and contracts, contributes to campus security, and supports several university publications. The Foundation contributes over $1 million annually to Cal Poly Pomona.

CSU along with Cal Poly Pomona Foundation strongly recommend faculty, staff, and students who are accessing campus facilities to be immunized against COVID-19 or declare an exemption from doing so. The systemwide policy can be found at COVID-19 Vaccination Interim Policy and any questions may be sent to [e-mail] .

Cal Poly Pomona Foundation, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Cal Poly Pomona Foundation, Inc. may provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodation with the employer.