About the job
Job Title
: Robotics Engineering Intern (UAV Autonomy - Perception & State Estimation)
Location
: Caldas da Rainha, Portugal (On-site)
Type
: Paid Internship (3-6 Months) with Full-Time potential
The Mission
Hertel Robotics is a stealth‑mode startup branch (besides Hertel. Aerials and Hertel. Pictures, est in Caldas da Rainha building autonomous drone systems for the world's harshest maritime environments. We believe if it doesn't fly (and land) comfortably in +45 knots and 5 meter waves, it doesn't work reliable enough to
actually help
in high stakes ocean operations.
We are looking for a Robotics Intern to support our autonomy stack, focusing on state estimation, perception, and sensor fusion. You'll work on real hardware and contribute directly to flight-critical systems.
What You Will Do
* State Estimation: Contribute to UAV pose estimation and sensor fusion algorithms (combining IMU, GPS, LiDAR, and vision).
* Perception: Support computer vision pipelines for marker detection and semantic cues, integrating camera data into the autonomy stack.
* Integration: Use ROS2 to connect perception outputs with control modules, ensuring reliable interface contracts.
* Testing: Participate in flight tests and perform log analysis to validate and refine algorithms.
Required Skills
* Background: BSc or MSc student in Robotics, Aerospace, CS, Electrical Engineering or similar.
* Computer Vision: Familiarity with CV techniques (feature extraction, optical flow, marker detection) and libraries such as OpenCV or PyTorch.
* State Estimation: Understanding of sensor fusion methods (e.g., EKF, VIO, SLAM) and their practical limitations.
* Coding: Comfortable with Python and/or C++.
* ROS2: Basic understanding of nodes, topics, and messages.
* Linux: Confident working in Ubuntu terminal.
* Attitude: Proactive communicator, eager to solve problems.
Bonus Skills
* Experience with PX4 or ArduPilot.
* Familiarity with sensor fusion techniques (e.g., Kalman filters).
* Hands-on experience with drones or robotics projects.
* Experience with machine learning
Why Join Us?
* Career Launchpad: We hire our best interns. This is a direct path to a full-time contract.
* Mentorship: Learn directly from senior engineers and PhD-level experts in computer vision and control.
* The Culture: An "Ubuntu" mindset—we win together. A flat hierarchy where the best idea wins, not the loudest voice.