Summer Research Engineering Assistant

at  California Institute of Technology

JOB SUMMARY

The position is full-time, temporary, located on Campus, and under the supervision of the Electronics Group Lead. The candidate will assist with two main tasks:

• Under the direction of the supervisor, design laboratory equipment to interface with analog and digital sensors. This task will comprise mostly of software expertise but also involve basic electronics design and mechanical design. The focus will be on high-quality and reusable software architecture.
• Participate in the design, setup, and execution tests and integration of the reconfigurable slit mask unit for the WMKO LRIS upgrade project. The candidate will have the opportunity to write software that runs on the instrument under the guidance of the supervisor. This task will involve more software and robotics knowledge including working with industrial automation protocols and systems.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in physics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or similar.
• High competence with Python or C/C++ programming languages.
• Be able to lift 20 pounds.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Familiarity with using version control and doxygen.
• Familiarity with circuit design and sensor integration.
• Familiarity with industrial standards such as EtherCAT.
• Familiarity with writing libraries in Python and C++.
• Familiarity with Linux.
• Willingness to read and follow detailed instructions, the diligence to make careful measurements, to work patiently to solve problems, and to document the work done.
• Competency in report writing is desirable, so good scores in courses requiring essay writing or manifestation of effective communication skills will be considered a plus.
• A commitment to work full-time for up to 10 weeks.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES

• The candidate will work under the direction of a supervising member of the OIR (Optical Infra-Red) Instrumentation group to collaborate on the characterization of subsystems currently being developed for the project and develop tools that can be used not only on this project but also as a basis for future tools.
• The candidate will emphasize developing high-quality systems and take time to document them to maximize the future value of efforts.
• This will be an opportunity to learn how to create production quality systems.

The position is full-time, temporary, located on Campus, and under the supervision of the Electronics Group Lead. The candidate will assist with two main tasks:

• Under the direction of the supervisor, design laboratory equipment to interface with analog and digital sensors. This task will comprise mostly of software expertise but also involve basic electronics design and mechanical design. The focus will be on high-quality and reusable software architecture.
• Participate in the design, setup, and execution tests and integration of the reconfigurable slit mask unit for the WMKO LRIS upgrade project. The candidate will have the opportunity to write software that runs on the instrument under the guidance of the supervisor. This task will involve more software and robotics knowledge including working with industrial automation protocols and systems