At a glance#
Skills: Firmware, Embedded C, Bazel, pytest, gtest, HIL testing, Databricks
- What: Embedded Software Engineering Intern at Rivian & Volkswagen Group Technologies, the joint venture between Rivian and the Volkswagen Group.
- How: Developed firmware in embedded C for Rivian R2 and future VW vehicle platforms.
- Why: Learned how to develop, test, and ship reliable firmware at scale.
Details#
This summer, I landed an internship with Rivian & Volkswagen Group Technologies (RV Tech) as an Embedded Software Engineering Intern. I worked in Palo Alto, CA on the Vehicle Power Modes team to develop firmware in embedded C for Rivian and VW Group vehicles. Overall, I had a fantastic summer, both within and beyond work, and I am sincerely grateful to all the people who made my experience so memorable and fun.
I can’t share too many specifics on the projects I worked on, but some highlights include:
- Defining, building, and launching a brand-new cross-platform software component to monitor the timing of the vehicle’s sleep-to-wake pathway
- Pushing firmware to production that now exists on every Rivian R2 on the road today
- Collaborating with engineers from VW Group who flew out from Germany to port firmware to VW Group platforms
One of my biggest takeaways from this summer was seeing what goes into developing software and firmware at scale. Designing robust firmware for both parent companies (Rivian and VW) across multiple platforms, numerous configurations, and hundreds of thousands of vehicles is a completely different task than working on a single car for FSAE. A 1% edge case may be acceptable for an FSAE car, but at the scale of RV Tech, the same 1% error could impact thousands of vehicles! I learned immensely about the importance of testing and validation, from software-in-the-loop testing, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and vehicle testing. Beyond the number of vehicles, collaborating with hundreds of other developers was an eye-opener. I saw the importance of defining and communicating requirements and the necessity of effective CI/CD. Importantly, I also saw how dramatically progress slows when things like test maintenance and developer tooling fail to perform.
Overall, I have learned an incredible amount this summer, with the most important takeaways not residing within the specifics of C syntax, but instead with broader ideas in architecting effective firmware and architecting effective teams (these two things are absolutely related!). The insights I have gained this summer have shaped how I think about my role in FSAE and, more broadly, my convictions on what makes teams and companies effective.
For those that know me personally, you likely know how much this internship meant to me. I discovered Rivian as a company all the way back during the COVID-19 pandemic, and ever since starting high school, Rivian has steadfastly remained my dream company to work for. Ask me about my biking misadventures at Rivian HQ if you want to hear more ;) I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to live out this dream, and I could not have asked for a more amazing summer.
Of course, I owe a huge thank-you to the people who made the experience so incredible. Thank you to my fellow Oliners for connecting me with this role and for the conversations about Olin then and now. Thank you to my mentor, manager, and co-workers for your endless support and patience. Thank you to the other interns (at RV Tech and beyond!) for all the adventures and the fast-formed, yet impossibly authentic friendships.