Robotics Software Intern

Role Name: Robotics Software Intern

About Manastu

Manastu Space is an Indian space-tech company founded by IIT Bombay alumni Tushar Jadhav and Ashtesh Kumar. It develops hydrogen peroxide-based green propulsion systems for satellites and launch vehicles that enable safer manoeuvring that is cost-effective and helps in debris collision avoidance with sustainable end-of-life deorbiting, thus address the growing needs and challenges of an increasingly crowded space environment.

Our work sits at the intersection of advanced engineering, applied research and mission-critical systems, requiring deep technical capability and long-term thinking.

Website: https://www.manastuspace.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/manastu-space/

Email: [Confidential Information]

Duration: 6 months, Onsite – Full Time Internship

Start date: 19th October, 2026

Reports to: Robotics Software Engineer

Conversion: Strong performers may be considered for a full-time offer (PPO) at the end of the internship

Location: Turbhe MIDC, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra — Onsite, full-time.

What you will work on

– Precision landing — perception and control for landing the vehicle accurately on a target, including optimising existing code so it runs within the constraints of the onboard computer.

– Flight controls — implementing and tuning control loops, diagnosing instability, and validating behaviour in simulation and on hardware.

– Path planning and optimization — implementing planning and optimization algorithms, and reasoning about cost functions rather than only calling library functions.

– Flight controllers and sensors — working directly with ArduPilot-based systems, configuring vehicles, and dealing with real sensor behaviour: IMU, GPS, rangefinder, camera.

– Linux and toolchain — building, debugging and running your code on Linux, including on the target hardware rather than only on your laptop.

What we require

– Strong C and C++. You have written substantial code in these languages yourself and can explain your memory and timing choices.

– Prior hands-on drone experience.Flight controllers, sensors, ArduPilot, and ideally precision landing. Configured and flashed yourself, not flown on someone else's setup.

– Control theory. Not just the textbook version — you have tuned a real loop and can explain what the gains were doing and how you knew when to stop.

– Perception. Experience with vision-based estimation relevant to landing on a target: detection, pose estimation, and the error sources that come with them.

– Path planning and optimization algorithms. You have implemented at least one from scratch and can explain how it works, not only which library provides it.

– Linux systems. Comfortable at the shell, with a build system, a debugger and version control as your normal working environment.

– Preference: You have participated in Drone/Robotics related competitions IROC, SAE Aerothon, NIDAR, etc.

Education / candidate profile

• B.Tech/B.E./M.Tech/ students or recent graduates in Robotics, or related fields.
• Typically 3rd/4th-year undergraduate, final-year student, or recent graduate.
• Strong preference for candidates with substantial hands-on robotics/drone experience.

What to send us

To: [HIDDEN TEXT]; Subject - Robotics Software Intern Application

– Your CV along with the project portfolio, and a link to code you personally wrote — GitHub, GitLab, or an archive. Group projects are fine as long as you can say clearly which parts were yours.

– A short note — a few lines is enough — on one drone or robotics problem you solved: what was broken, what you tried, and what the result was. Include the numbers if you have them.

– Any flight logs, plots, or test data from work you have done. These tell us more than a project title does.