Undergraduate Tech Intern – Embedded Systems Engineer

Overview

At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments that we refer to as Directorates within the Lab, focused on a specific area of scientific research or other function, with its own leadership team and dedicated budget.

Our Science & Technology directorates include National Security, Earth and Biological Sciences, Physical and Computational Sciences, and Energy and Environment. In addition, we have an Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus.

The National Security Directorate (NSD) drives science-based, mission-focused solutions to take on complex, real‑world threats to our nation and the world.

The Physical Detection Systems and Deployment Division, part of the National Security Directorate, delivers policy‑informed technology solutions by removing barriers to real‑world implementation. We strive to understand end‑user environments to transition technology from the developmental stage to deployment. Our diverse expertise in operational systems provides tools, technologies, and approaches for combating a range of threats, both at home and in more than 100 countries around the globe.

The Advanced Engineered Systems group within the National Security Directorate within Pacific Northwest National Laboratory builds embedded electronic systems to support various applications including imaging systems, system health monitoring, cyber security and advanced radio frequency devices to sense and communicate with other devices. PNNL seeks an Undergraduate Intern for verification, test and analysis of embedded systems, power electronics and software for the above applications.

The applicant is expected to apply fundamentals of electrical engineering to test custom electronic and RF printed circuit boards, work with software defined radios (SDR) and custom software to verify functionality. The applicant will also learn RF fundamentals to setup and test RF sensing and interrogation devices. C/C++ and python software languages will be extensively used to automate tasks, collect data from analog and digital systems and deliver data to modern computing systems.

Executing ad‑hoc and defined test cases and critical thinking is fundamental to this position to confirm proper system operation in real world environments. Basic knowledge of command line and remote access to Linux operating systems is crucial to success as well as electronics fundamentals to troubleshoot and correct issues with custom printed circuit boards. The job duties will give the applicant an opportunity to experience electrical and computer engineering fundamentals as applied to real‑world applications in a research environment, while assisting in missions that make our nation safer.

• Write software test utilities in C/C++ and python
• Configure SDR and RF systems for testing.
• Collect and analyze data
• Read schematics, test circuits and develop small circuits to meet various system needs
• Configure electronic systems for system validation and testing
• Test electronic systems for performance verification

• Analyze data and system responses for performance analysis. Troubleshoot RF performance and devise test methods to exercise equipment to specifications.

• Candidates must have a high school diploma /GED or higher
• Candidates must be degree‑seeking undergraduate students enrolled at an accredited college or university
• Candidates must be taking at least 6 credit hours and have an overall cumulative GPA of 2.5

• Currently enrolled in a degree‑seeking program in electrical engineering, software engineering, computer engineering, physics, or equivalent
• Familiarity with source control tools: GIT, bitbucket, Github, Sublime Merge, Source Tree, etc.
• Familiarity with virtualized containers:
  Docker, VMware, etc.
• Skilled in scripting with Python and/or TCL
• Basic skills in software development with C/C++ or equivalent; GCC for linux and makefiles is a plus
• Basic electronic circuit theory and familiarity with datasheets
• Familiarity with Linux…