Training Solutions Drone Intern

Company Overview

By Light Professional IT Services LLC readies warfighters and federal agencies with technology and systems engineered to connect, protect, and prepare individuals and teams for whatever comes next. Headquartered in McLean, VA, By Light supports defense, civilian, and commercial IT customers worldwide.

Cole Engineering Services (CESI), a By Light company, is recognized as a premier provider of modeling and simulation (M&S) training solutions to the Federal Government and industry. Since 2004, CESI has been at the forefront of developing, maintaining, and integrating simulation-based training, serious gaming, technical services, training and other support in live, virtual, constructive, and gaming (LVCG) domains. CESI also designs, builds and runs infrastructure, platforms, applications and processes that enable cyber training for the integrated multi-domain force.

Our vision is to become a worldwide full spectrum LVCG and cyber training/analysis developer, integrator and services provider.

Cole Engineering Services (CESI) is seeking a motivated and talented intern to support the development of military training solutions within our live training vertical, with a primary focus on drone force-on-force and counter-unmanned aircraft systems (cUAS) capabilities. This position provides hands‑on exposure to embedded single‑board computer development and computer vision model training while contributing directly to devices used by Soldiers in live training.

The intern will support build‑up, instrumentation, and test of drone and cUAS training systems.

This is an onsite position and may require some travel.

• Embedded Systems and Single-Board Computer Support (Primary Duty)
  • Flash, configure, and bench-test single-board computers (e.g., NVIDIA Jetson, Raspberry Pi class) used in drone force-on-force and counter-UAS (cUAS) training devices
  • Write and maintain software for device provisioning, sensor initialization, data logging, and automated bench checks
  • Integrate and verify RGB and thermal camera modules, orientation/IMU sensors, and radio links against documented interface requirements
  • Capture power draw, thermal, and runtime measurements supporting endurance and duty‑cycle analysis for field training events
  • Maintain configuration baselines and version control so device images and builds are reproducible
• Computer Vision Model Training Support
  • Organize, version, and stage RGB and thermal imagery datasets of small UAS and FPV targets for training, validation, and regression testing
  • Execute supervised training and evaluation runs under engineering direction, logging hyperparameters, run configurations, and results
  • Score model performance against held-out data (precision/recall, detection range, false alarm rate) and summarize findings for the project lead
  • Convert and optimize trained models for edge deployment (e.g., ONNX, TensorRT) and measure on‑device inference latency
  • Support re‑baselining of detection models when airframes, backgrounds, or sensor configurations change
• Drone Force-on-Force and cUAS Test Support
  • Set up, instrument, and tear down controlled lanes for drone force-on-force and cUAS training events
  • Perform ground support tasks including battery management, airframe inventory and pre‑flight checks, and ground control station setup under the supervision of the designated remote pilot
  • Verify time synchronization, telemetry capture, and engagement/adjudication data across networked devices before each run
  • Perform first‑level data reduction after test events and flag anomalies for engineering review
  • Follow all range, airspace, lithium battery handling, and standard operating procedures during test and flight events
• Program and Professional Development
  • Shadow…