Michigan Technological University’s (MTU) Keweenaw Research Center (KRC) internship program is a year-round funded position that offers flexible hours. It is an embedded mentorship program intended for current students and recent graduates to work alongside full-time engineering staff engaged in both internal and external research activities. Experience will be gained from working amongst multiple engineering disciplines towards common project goals with a good blend of office, lab and field testing. Significant on the job training will be provided.
Applications for internship will be accepted as positions become available. Available internship position descriptions will be announced per a public solicitation and will include a formal application and interview process. The normal internship solicitation cycle will occur prior to spring commencement and after start of fall semester but exceptions will be made based upon candidate availability and department needs.
Application Submission
ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS MUST BE SUBMITTED THROUGH HANDSHAKE.
- Complete a KRC Internship Application for open positions within KRC Internship Program.
- Cover letter indicating the applicant’s developmental interests.
- Resume including experience related to intern position sought, degrees held and being pursued, departmental GPA and expected graduation date.
Please Note - Applicants full name must be included in all attached file(s).
Upon accepting an internship position with KRC, interns are expected to work year-round with considerations for pursuing an academic degree. Students are expected to be available for part time during the academic school year but are to move toward a full-time schedule during the summer. Recent graduate internships are expected to be available for full-time employment.
Requirements
- Must submit all application materials for consideration.
- All applicants must have the ability to obtain a Department of Defense security clearance, which requires that the applicant be a United States citizen. Applicants who do not meet this requirement will be disqualified.
- Must be at least 18 years-old to be eligible.
- Minimum GPA of 2.0.
- Must have at least 6 college credits post high school.
- Demonstrated interest in Engineering & Science (E&S) careers through academic coursework, extracurricular activities, or work experience.
- Must provide own transportation and be able to commute to the Houghton County Airpark – 23337 Airpark Blvd., Calumet, MI 49913.
- Part time schedule for students actively pursuing a degree during the academic school year is expected to be a minimum of 10 hours per week.
- Full time schedule is expected to be a minimum of 30 hours or more per week for the duration of the summer.
Michigan Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer that provides equal opportunity for all, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.
Available Internship Positions
Intern Position Description - Geospatial Engineering & Surveying
This position will interest candidates who are looking to gain experience in collecting and processing Geospatial data, developing virtual terrain models and creating GIS databases. This intern will gain experience utilizing UAS photogrammetry, terrestrial LiDAR, GNSS and robotic total station using common surveying practices. Various surveying equipment and workflows will be used to collect and process Geospatial data. The work will involve a mix of hands-on field data collection and start to finish data processing using a wide variety of software. The work is a mix of typical civil engineering workflows as well as supporting data needs for autonomous and semi-autonomous robot vehicle research and development.
The following equipment & software will be used (experience not required):
- Various drones (Photogrammetry Specific)
- GNSS Rover
- Robotic Total Station
- LiDAR Scanning (Terrestrial)
- Handheld Scanning
- Leica Cyclone, Cyclone 3DR, Infinity, Captivate
- ArcGIS
- QGIS
- Pix4DMapper, Pix4DMatic
- Blender
- Python
- Unreal
- Civil3D
Intern Position Description - Electrical Engineering
This position will interest candidates who are looking to gain experience in vehicle electronics and wiring harnesses. Our project work includes PCB design/prototyping/troubleshooting, embedded systems programming, electrical harness schematic capture, 3D harness routing in CAD, prototype harness assembly. While this position is geared towards an electrical or computer engineer or technician, anyone with applicable experience and interest is encouraged to apply.
Intern Position Description - Software Engineering
This intern position will interest candidates who are looking to gain experience in embedded systems software, ground vehicle robotics, autonomy, simulation via game engine (Unreal Engine). Project work will likely include programming of custom and COTS vehicle controllers, robotics and autonomy development of unmanned ground vehicles in ROS, and digital twin development in Unreal Engine. While this position is geared towards a computer engineer or scientist, anyone with applicable experience and interest is encouraged to apply.
Intern Position Description - Mechanical Design Engineer
This intern position will interest candidates who are looking to gain experience working with CAD and CAE software packages to aid KRC engineers with a variety of hardware design and analysis projects. An interest in design and/or analysis is required although no experience is necessary. Interns will gain experience in 3D modeling and design along with prototyping, assembly and testing tasks on a variety of military and commercial projects. While this position is geared towards a student pursuing a mechanical engineer or mechanical engineering technician, anyone with applicable experience and interest is encouraged to apply.
Intern Position Description - Test and Evaluation Engineer
This intern position will interest candidates who are looking to gain experience in collecting and processing instrumented test data on military and automotive ground vehicles and in laboratory tests. The work will involve hands-on instrumentation, field and laboratory data acquisition, signal post-processing and analysis, and documentation of tests/experiments. Interns will learn skills relevant to selection of sensors for needed measurements, setup of data acquisition and measurement frontends, theory of signals, sampling and quantization, and dynamic signal processing techniques.
Typical equipment & software used for test and evaluation include (experience not required):
- Sensors and instrumentation such as: accelerometers, microphones, load cells, thermocouples, pressure sensors, strain gauges, laser tachometers, inductive proximity sensors, encoders
- VBOX Touch / 3i RTK GNSS data loggers
- Siemens Simcenter / TestLab
- Matlab
- Vehicle CAN Bus data collection hardware / software:
- Vector CANalyzer, Kvaser Memorator, IMC CANSAS
- High speed camera
- Various data logger systems
Intern Position Description – Scientific & Technical Communication
This intern position will interest candidates who are looking to gain experience in communicating engineering activities. The work will involve active participation in project meetings, review of project scope and deliverables, creation of periodic status update documentation, reports, manuals, and marketing materials. Interns will learn skills relevant to the creation of concise documentation regarding multi-discipline engineering activities, user friendly operator manuals, and product branding.