Hardware Test & Reliability Intern

This is a Fall 2026 internship or co-op position on the Hardware Test & Reliability Team at Skydio, a leading US drone company. The intern will help develop and execute test plans and testing infrastructure to enable rapid design iteration and robust product validation for autonomous flying machines. Responsibilities include designing hardware and software systems for performance and reliability validation, analyzing data, performing failure analysis, and participating in design reviews to provide design-for-reliability inputs.

Responsibilities

• Own the design and implementation of hardware and software systems to execute comprehensive performance and reliability validation for products performing in a wide array of use cases
• Analyze data, calculate statistics, and carefully document results to explain trends and inform impactful design improvements
• Perform failure analysis to identify root cause and help develop process/design mitigations to resolve system issues, collaborating with mechanical, electrical, software, manufacturing, and quality engineering teams
• Participate in design reviews and provide key design for reliability inputs to mitigate risks at every stage of the product development lifecycle

Requirements

• A sense of how to test, how not to test, and how to find vulnerabilities in processes and design
• A systematic approach to problem solving, and a knack for rapidly identifying issues within electro-mechanical systems; strong desire to drive failure analyses to true root cause
• Enthusiastic tendencies toward diving in and applying first principles to engineer creative solutions to complex problems
• Experience with Python or other programming languages for test automation, data analysis and visualization
• Strong desire to learn and contribute across multiple domains within a dynamic and growing organization
• Excellent project management, written & verbal communication and cross-functional teamwork skills
• Familiarity with testing equipment and basic knowledge of stress, environmental, and accelerated life testing methods to assess product durability and reliability.