Embedded Systems Firmware Engineering Intern (Graduates & U.S. Persons Only)

Published: 6/14/2022

Technology

Job Description

Please note before applying: this internship is open to graduates only (degree conferred; current students are not eligible), is restricted to U.S. Persons (see ITAR notice below), and is fully on-site in Azusa, CA, including an in-person interview. Candidates within ~30 minutes of Azusa are preferred; candidates farther out must be willing to live in our Azusa intern housing for the internship.

This is a firmware-and-electronics role. You write the code that runs on our sensing hardware and you build, wire, and debug the hardware it runs on. It is not the mechanical/enclosure role (that's Mechatronics) and not the AI-infrastructure role (that's the AI Intern). If your happiest hours are spent with a scope on one bench outlet and a debugger on the other, this is your role.

ABOUT ELDÆON:

ELDÆON is building the world's first tactical UAP-detection network. Our sensor-fusion platform is engineered ground-up to detect what conventional defense systems were never designed to see — anomalous aerial phenomena that violate restricted airspace, including near nuclear facilities and military installations.

Our platform is:

Modular — adaptable across rooftop, field, and networked regional deployments

Multimodal — fusing optical, RF, environmental, biometric, and temporal data

Real-time — live detection, correlation, and characterization of aerial phenomena

We are sensor hackers, reverse engineers, and deep-tech builders. We build what others won't.

THE ROLE

You'll own firmware and sensor integration across our two flagship platforms:

DIONYSUS — our multi-sensor UAP-detection system. A single unit runs 28+ sensors on distributed embedded compute (Raspberry Pi 5, Jetson Orin, mini-PC): environmental (BME688, SGP30, SCD4x, PMS5003 particulate), lightning detection (AS3935), fluxgate and MEMS magnetometers, infrasonic pressure sensing (24-bit differential SPI sensor), acoustic/ultrasonic capture at 384 kHz, cosmic-ray scintillation, Geiger, EMF, GNSS, and a full electro-optical suite (PTZ, thermal, UV, all-sky).

NEMESIS — our passive radar system. Raspberry Pi 5 + software-defined radio (ADALM-Pluto/AD9361), servo-actuated antenna positioning, GPS-disciplined timing, and a custom OS with A/B OTA updates, full-disk encryption, and secure boot.

Every sensor above means a real bus bring-up, a real driver, a real service, and real field debugging. You will do that work — with agentic coding tools (Claude Code, Hermes) as your force multiplier, and your own hands on the hardware as the verification layer. We expect agents to write a lot of the first draft; we expect you to know exactly when the agent is wrong, because you're the one holding the logic analyzer.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Write and maintain firmware and drivers on Raspberry Pi 5 in Python, C, and C++ — sensor services, bus protocols, systemd units, watchdogs

Drive agentic coding tools (Claude Code, Hermes) to write embedded code against real hardware — then verify on the bench, not in the chat window

Bring up and debug SPI, I²C, UART, GPIO, and PIO peripherals with a logic analyzer and oscilloscope; work across Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and gigabit Ethernet

Design custom PCBs — schematic capture, layout, fab, bring-up — including sensor consolidation boards and Raspberry Pi Compute Module carrier boards with high-speed signal lines

Solder surface-mount and through-hole components; crimp, tin, heat-shrink, and build wiring harnesses that survive outdoor deployment

Attach debuggers (JTAG/SWD, gdb) to targets running RTOS and embedded Linux

Integrate and tune servos, motor controllers, power distribution, MOSFET-switched power rails, and power electronics

Develop FPGA firmware — RTL (Verilog/VHDL) in Vivado on Zynq-class parts, starting with our AD9361/Pluto radar front-end and SPI-controlled phase-shifter array

Work inside our embedded OS stack: RAUC A/B OTA, LUKS encryption, secure boot, Docker on device

3D print brackets and mounts for your own bring-up rigs; light CAD as needed

Debug, optimize, and profile — our radar pipeline lives or dies on real-time compute budgets

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Every Required item below must be visible in your resume or portfolio as a project you built — coursework alone does not clear the bar. Bring links.

Required

Completed BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline (degree already conferred; current students are NOT eligible)

U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual — see ITAR notice)

Embedded C/C++ and Python on Linux single-board computers (Raspberry Pi or similar), with project evidence

PCB design — schematic capture and layout (KiCad/Altium) on a board that was fabricated and brought up

Hand-soldering of surface-mount and through-hole components; comfortable crimping, tinning, and heat-shrinking harnesses

Bus-level bring-up and debugging: SPI, I²C, UART — with a scope or logic analyzer, not just a library import

Hands-on sensor integration: you have wired sensors (IMU, GPS, environmental, acoustic, camera, or similar) and processed their output

Willing to work with agentic coding tools (Claude Code, Hermes) as production instruments — hands-on experience strongly preferred

Independent — you own a subsystem end-to-end in a fast-paced environment, and you fix root causes rather than working around them

Able to be on-site in Azusa for the full internship

Strongly preferred (any combination)

Software-defined radio (PlutoSDR, HackRF, RTL-SDR, USRP) and working RF/radar fundamentals

Antenna design understanding — Yagi, omnidirectional, and patch antennas; horizontal, vertical, and linear polarization; feeds and matching

FPGA development — Verilog/VHDL, Vivado, Zynq or similar; register-transfer-level design

RTOS experience (FreeRTOS, Zephyr) with a hardware debugger attached

Sensor breadth: ultrasonic/acoustic, electro-optical/camera, environmental, biometric, oxygen/gas, magnetometer, or quantum sensing

Servo/motor control with encoders and closed-loop tuning; power electronics

Compute Module carrier-board design — high-speed lines (CSI/DSI/PCIe/Ethernet), impedance control

3D printing (FDM/SLA) and CAD (Fusion 360 or similar)

Linux systems depth: systemd, device trees, kernel modules, udev

Bonus

Ham radio license, homelab, robotics/drone builds, or sensor projects that run unattended

Genuine curiosity about UAP, anomalous aerial phenomena, and the frontier of sensing

PERKS

Paid — $20/hr, full-time (40 hrs/week)

Company-provided housing in Azusa, CA at the intern house

Real ownership — your firmware ships on units at customer sites, not a throwaway intern project

Real hardware — SDRs, phased-array front-ends, a 28-sensor platform, and a full electronics bench

Direct access to founders and senior engineers

Frontier work — the platform you'll build doesn't have a textbook

ITAR / EXPORT CONTROL NOTICE

ELDÆON develops technology subject to U.S. export-control regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) administered by the U.S. Department of State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC).

This role requires U.S.-Person status. The role works directly on NEMESIS passive-radar firmware and related controlled technical data, which may only be accessed by U.S. Persons as defined under 22 CFR §120.62 (U.S. citizens, U.S. lawful permanent residents, and protected individuals under 8 U.S.C. §1324b(a)(3)).

U.S.-Person status is verified during the interview process. We do not sponsor visas for this role.

We read every application. If your project portfolio shows you can build, you'll hear back.

ELDAEON is an equal-opportunity employer. We build what others won't — and we hire people who do the same.