Electronics & Hardware Engineer - Intern​/Defence

Position: Electronics & Hardware Engineer - Intern / Student Job - Defence
About Touchwaves
At Touchwaves, we are building the next generation of human–machine interfaces. We are a TNO spin-off working closely with defence partners to develop technology for environments where failure is not an option. Most wearables today are incremental: slightly better batteries, marginally improved sensors, more apps layered on top. We are not interested in incremental. Touchwaves is developing next‑generation wearable systems that operate where performance, reliability, and human limits collide.

Our embodied haptics technology connects human physiology with intelligent systems, enabling pilots and operators to maintain situational awareness and perform at their best under extreme cognitive and physical stress. Our platforms integrate sensing, embedded intelligence, and haptic actuation directly into garments and equipment used by military and security professionals. By combining science, engineering, and design, we enhance human performance in defence, aviation, and dual‑use applications.

Your Role
We are looking for a hands‑on Electronics & Hardware Engineering student to join us part‑time and contribute directly to the development of our wearable prototypes. You will help build, test, and iterate on hardware that our customers — including drone operators, pilots and special forces — interact with in the real world. This is not a desk job. You will solder, debug, prototype, and present.

If your mindset is do → fail → learn → iterate → do better, you will feel right at home here.

Location
Eindhoven, Netherlands

Type
Internship / Student Job

What You Will Build
Prototyping & Hardware Development

Design and build functional wearable prototypes for customer demonstrations and field trials

Iterate rapidly from concept to working prototype, prioritising speed and learnability over perfection

Support demo preparation for drone operator use cases and other defence applications

Assist in the integration of hardware into wearable garments and body‑worn platforms

PCB & Schematic Design

Contribute to schematic capture and PCB layout for custom wearable electronics

Support hardware bring‑up of new PCB designs and troubleshoot issues at the board level

Assist in selecting and evaluating components for power, size, and performance constraints

Use bench equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analysers, multimeters) to validate hardware designs

Embedded Firmware (C/C++)

Write and test embedded firmware in C/C++ for microcontroller‑based wearable systems

Integrate peripheral drivers (I2C, SPI, UART) for sensors and actuation modules

Debug hardware–software interactions at the register and signal level

Support integration of real‑time logic for haptic feedback and communication protocols

Sensor Integration

Integrate and validate sensors, IMUs, environmental sensors, and motion sensing modules

Support calibration and data quality validation pipelines for body‑worn sensing systems

Work with both commercial off‑the‑shelf and custom sensor solutions

Analyse sensor output data to identify and resolve signal quality issues

Required Experience & Skills
Must‑Have

Currently enrolled in Electrical Engineering, Embedded Systems, Mechatronics, or a related technical programme

Hands‑on experience with microcontrollers (Arduino, STM
32, Nordic nRF, ESP
32, or similar)

Working knowledge of C or C++ for embedded systems

Familiarity with standard communication interfaces (I2C, SPI, UART)

Comfortable working with bench tools

Eager to learn in a fast‑paced, early‑stage deep‑tech environment

Nice‑to‑Have

Experience with PCB design tools (KiCad, Altium, or Eagle)

Exposure to RTOS concepts (FreeRTOS, Zephyr) or bare‑metal real‑time programming

Python scripting for data analysis, testing, or rapid prototyping

Interest or experience in wearables, IoT, or body‑worn systems

Affinity with defence, aviation, robotics, or high‑reliability systems

Basic 3D printing or mechanical prototyping experience

Who You Are

You build things to learn — not just to finish assignments

You are comfortable with ambiguity and enjoy finding your way through a poorly defined problem

You care about quality but know when to ship a working prototype over a perfect one

You want to see your work used…