Firmware Engineering Intern
Department: Autonomous Controls Team
My experience
Overview
Main project was refactoring the existing speed control algorithms for their autonomous vehicles, as well as developing an algorithm for one of the new vehicles. Created software designs, performed reviews, implemented the changes. Was a pretty cool project. One thing I didn't like was they started me on the project pretty late in the summer. Before that, it was bug fixes and such which aren't as interesting.
They are really trying to address all the negatives I listed, and are using a lot of new technologies.
Pros
Great company culture, relevant work, innovating company, lots of oppurtunities
Cons
A lot of legacy code, somewhat confusing product offerings/systems, their testing tools aren't the best for embedded, which causes a lot of pain and wasted time.
Impact of work
Time spent working
How did working remote affect your experience?
They did a pretty good job with being remote. Everyone was very friendly and down to help even though I was remote. They also flew me out to the office to meet everyone. They use GSuite for communication which is actually pretty nice.
Interview advice
How did you find the job / apply?
Interview Rounds
Interview type
Interview questions
Gave me a take-home assignment that had two problems: * Create a model of a vehicle in C and create a cruise control algorithm using a PID loop. Show that it can pass various test cases. * I was given a bunch of data from various sensors on an actual vehicle (GPS, accelerometers, gyroscopes, etc) and asked to develop an algorithm to determine the vehicle heading. It was a very open-ended question and they weren't really looking for a specific answer, just how I approached and tried to solve the problem.
Advice on how to prepare
Make sure you really know all the projects on your resume and can hold a good conversation about them. As for the internship itself, make sure to really take responsibility, ask questions, and try to soak as much knowledge as possible.
More questions? Send the reviewer a message!