R&D Engineering Intern at Technergetics

<div class="content-intro"><p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div><p><strong>Position: R&amp;D Engineering Intern</strong></p> <p> <strong>Opportunity Overview:</strong>&nbsp;</p> <p>Technergetics is searching for a full-time (30 to 40 hours per week) research intern for a 3-month engagement to support a Phase I SBIR/STTR R&amp;D effort focused on secure, low-power personnel tracking for edge environments where GPS, cellular, and Wi-Fi can't be relied on. This is hands-on R&amp;D (Research and Development) — protocol design, mesh networking experimentation, and documenting findings that feed directly into a follow-on proposal. Strong performers may be considered for a permanent role at the conclusion of the internship, based on company needs.</p> <p><strong>Position Details   </strong>  &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Pay: $22-$28. </strong>The hourly wage is dependent on the amount of schooling and experience of the successful candidate.  </p> <p>This is a remote position. &nbsp;The work may be performed from the successful candidate's home. &nbsp;</p> <p>There is a minimum work expectation of 30 hours per week and a maximum of 40 hours per week for this position.</p> <p>The start date is expected to be June 2026.</p> <p>Due to the contract requirements for this position, only U.S. citizens are eligible to apply.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Responsibilities and Duties  &nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;</p> <p>The R&amp;D Engineering Intern will work alongside our Principal Investigator and an academic Co-PI to research and prototype a tracking protocol inspired by military tactical data links, built on top of modern long-range/low-power IoT stacks (LoRa, Meshtastic, Thread).&nbsp;</p> <p>Daily Activities Include:</p> <ul> <li>Researching mesh networking approaches for Denied, Disconnected, Intermittent, and Limited-bandwidth (D-DIL) environments</li> <li>Comparative analysis of LoRaWAN, Meshtastic, Thread, and military tactical data link design principles (TDMA scheduling, anti-jam, time sync)</li> <li>Drafting a notional message format optimized for constrained RF links</li> <li>Evaluating cluster formation strategies (entropy-based weighting, RSSI, residual energy trade-offs)</li> <li>Lightweight crypto evaluation (PKI vs. symmetric key distribution for low-power MCUs)</li> <li>Contributing to the final technical report and follow-on roadmap</li> <li>Assist with tasking under this effort that may not be specifically listed here.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Education and Certifications: </strong>  &nbsp;</p> <p>This position requires matriculation in an accredited college or university while pursuing a Master's Degree or a late-stage BS/BA (rising senior or final-year) in computer engineering, electrical engineering or a closely related field.</p> <p><strong>Required Qualifications:</strong>&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li>Coursework or project experience in at least two of: wireless communications, embedded systems, networking protocols, or applied cryptography</li> <li>Comfortable with C/C++ and/or Python for embedded and simulation work</li> <li>Strong technical writing — you'll co-author sections of the final report</li> <li>Self-directed; able to plan and execute against weekly milestones in a remote setup&nbsp;</li> </ul> <p>The following qualifications are not required but nice to have:</p> <ul> <li>Hands-on experience with LoRa, LoRaWAN, Meshtastic, Thread, BLE, or Zigbee</li> <li>Prior bench prototyping experience with commercial parts such as Semtech SX126x/SX127x, ESP32, STM32, or Nordic SoCs</li> <li>Familiarity with mesh routing, TDMA, or SDR experimentation</li> <li>Exposure to ns-3, OMNeT++, or similar network simulators</li> <li>Interest in defense applications, edge AI, or tactical networking</li> </ul> <p><strong>Background Check: </strong>  &nbsp;</p> <p>Applicants selected will be subject to a background investigation which must be passed for continued employment.</p> <p><strong>Travel: </strong>  &nbsp;</p> <p>This position is not expected to require travel. &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Benefits: </strong>  &nbsp;</p> <p>This position does not include benefits, accept where required by law.</p> <p><strong>Company Description </strong>  &nbsp;</p> <p>Technergetics is a US-based company headquartered in Utica, NY, with employees and clients located throughout&nbsp;the country.  The Utica/Rome area is a hub of cutting-edge cyber technology research, bolstered by the Griffiss Business &amp; Technology Park’s tenants and facilities, including the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL).  At Technergetics, we work with a wide variety of technologies, including mobile and web apps, Quantum computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence, AI-enabled edge devices, and many more.   &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Beware of fraudulent job offers and postings!</strong> &nbsp;<br>Technergetics will never extend an offer of employment without a thorough interview process involving face to face interviews either in-person or a virtual Teams meeting from an official Technergetics email address (<em>@techngs.com</em>). If you receive any correspondence from an email other than <strong><em>techngs.com</em></strong>, it is a scam. Pre-interview code testing is only administered through the <em>Codility</em> platform. We will not send out questionnaires or testing through any other platform/site prior to a first interview. &nbsp;</p> <p>   &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.</strong>  &nbsp;</p>