AFIT ANT Research Intern/Co-Op (Spring/Summer 2026) - 27420
Job Description
Job Description
The Autonomy and Navigation Technology (ANT) Center, located at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright-Patterson AFB, is looking for a motivated, ambitious individual to serve as a Research Intern/Co-Op student. The successful candidate will be in the process of obtaining a Bachelor's or Master's degree from a major university or college in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a closely related field, with a 3.0 GPA or higher. The candidate must be a self-sufficient and independent professional.
While we’re thrilled to connect with candidates nationwide, this opportunity does not include temporary relocation or housing stipend support.
Essential Job Responsibilities
The Research Intern/Co-Op student will work closely with AFIT professors to support several research projects throughout the internship.
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Design, develop and test computer software in support of research requirements
- Collecting and analyzing experimental data
- Work with faculty, students and research engineers to develop new algorithms and tooling that support the various autonomy and advanced navigation research projects
- Integrate various hardware and software components to support specific research needs
- Support CI/CD pipelines and repository maintenance to ensure availaiblity of software tooling
- Reviews and tests software components for adherence to the design requirements and documents test results
The end goal of this internship is to provide undergraduate students an opportunity to expand their experiences as well as giving the ANT Center an opportunity to vet qualified future hires.
Minimum Qualifications
- Must be currently pursuing and enrolled in a Bachelor's or Master's degree program to meet internship requirements.
- Academic or hand-on previous intern experience in software design, development, coding, testing and debugging
- Solid foundation in object-oriented design, programming and requirements development
- Experience in a variety of programming languages, but strong in Python, C++ and C
- Experience with Ubuntu Linux, git and Docker
- Ability to work independently and as a team member
- The candidate should demonstrate a hands-on approach to problem-solving and must be willing to actively participate in the evalutation of algorithm and system performance
- Security clearance is not required for position BUT must have the ability to clear a Background Investigation upon offer
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Engineering Intern 1 |
High School Diploma or equivalent + Must be working towards a Bachelor's degree with up to 20% of the required credits completed. |
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Engineering Intern 2 |
High School Diploma or equivalent + Must be working towards a Bachelor's degree with between 20% and 40% of the required credits completed. |
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Engineering Intern 3 |
High School Diploma or equivalent + Must be working towards a Bachelor's degree and/or Master's degree with between 40% and 60% of the required credits completed. |
Preferred Requirements
Experience in one or more of the following is Not Required but is a plus:
- Basic knowledge of linear algebra
- Experience working with complex open-souce software projects
Physical Requirements
Work Location & Schedule
- This internship is on‑site at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, OH.
- Expected schedule: 5 days/week on‑site, hours Mon–Fri, 8am–5pm.
Physical Requirements
- Ability to sit/stand for extended periods and use a computer for up to 8 hours/day.
- Occasionally lift/carry up to [10-25] lbs (equipment, prototypes, laptops).
- Move between labs/meeting spaces; climb stairs; bend/reach as needed.
- Visual/hearing acuity to read screens, schematics, and communicate in person.
Working Conditions
- Office and/or lab environment with intermittent noise and tools/instrumentation.
- Training provided for equipment and safety protocols.