
Spring 2026: Control Systems & Algorithm Engineering Co-op (January through June)
- Needham, MA
- $28.00-37.00 per hour
- Training
- Full-time
- Design and implement real-time control algorithms for appliance subsystems (thermal, fluidic, and electromechanical).
- Work directly with pumps, heaters, boilers, AC/DC, and stepper motors, and their drivers.
- Interface with low-cost sensors (temperature, flow, pressure, torque, etc.) and implement signal processing, filtering, and estimation techniques (e.g., Kalman filters, etc.).
- Apply classical control methods (frequency response analysis, PID design, and tuning) to achieve stability and robustness in systems with significant delays and nonlinearities.
- Rapidly build and iterate prototypes and test rigs to validate algorithms in real hardware environments.
- Collect and analyze experimental data to identify system dynamics and optimize performance.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop system design, software architecture, and bring control algorithms from concept to embedded deployment.
- Education: Current student in their third year or beyond of a bachelor's program, or currently enrolled in a master's or doctorate program
- Must be able to work a full-time, 40-hour-per-week schedule with 5 days per week onsite in Needham, MA
- Strong understanding of control system theory (frequency response, stability margins, PID design and tuning) and design, including classical control and advanced control.
- Proficiency in embedded C/C++ programming and experience with microcontrollers (e.g., STM32, ESP32, Arduino, or similar).
- Familiarity with real-time signal processing and sensor fusion techniques.
- Comfort working hands-on with hardware systems (sensors, actuators, thermal and electromechanical components).
- Strong problem-solving ability and willingness to prototype quickly and iterate.
- A natural and effective communicator capable of reducing abstract concepts to reality.
- Able to quickly generate visual and physical definitions of new products that convey key attributes of function
- Be naturally curious and relentlessly driven to find better solutions to everyday problems.
- Experience with MATLAB/Simulink for system modeling, state-space control, and model-based design (including Simulink Coder/code generation).
- Background in system identification, including real-time or machine-learning-based modeling.
- Knowledge of nonlinear optimization algorithms suitable for low-compute, embedded environments.
- Familiarity with TinyML, CMSIS libraries, or other embedded ML frameworks.
- Experience with embedded system architecture and designing control software frameworks.