Mechanical Engineer Summer Intern

Voltic

Electric cargo ships

Mechanical Engineer Summer Intern

$4.5K / monthly•Boston, MA, US

Job type

Internship

Role

Engineering, Hardware

School year

Any

Visa

US citizen/visa only

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Prosser Cathey

Founder

Prosser Cathey

Founder

About the role

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Voltic Shipping is a Y Combinator-backed clean energy startup developing solar-powered cargo vessels for global trade routes. Backed by the U.S. Department of Energy and NOAA, our mission is to decarbonise ocean freight. Our engineering team is based in East Boston, MA, and this internship is supported through the MassCEC Clean Energy Internship Program.

Your analytical findings will directly inform Voltic's product roadmap. The hardware build and harbor trial are the means of validating that the model can be trusted across the global latitudes and seasons where Voltic's vessels operate.

THE POSITIONS

We are hiring two interns for Summer 2025, each fully dedicated to one independent engineering project. Both positions share the same qualifications, compensation, and location. Candidates should apply to the track that best matches their interests and background — each project is a complete 12-week scope designed for one person working at full attention.

A) Solar tracking systems for marine applications

Keywords: Embedded controls · photovoltaics · Boston Harbor sea trials

Solar panels on a vessel at sea face a compound challenge: the sun’s position changes with time of day, season, and the vessel’s latitude as it crosses the globe. A fixed panel captures only a fraction of the available irradiance compared to one that actively tracks the sun. This project asks: does solar tracking make commercial sense at ship scale, and if so, what architecture delivers the best energy gain per unit cost and weight?

The intern will build an analytical efficiency model covering the full global latitude range, derive the inter-panel shading constraint that limits useful rotation, and assess whether tracking individual panels or the entire array as a unit is the better approach. They will then build a working single-axis tracker on our prototype pontoon and validate it through sea trials in Boston Harbor — confirming that the measured efficiency gain matches the model’s predictions.

What you’ll do

• Implement a real-time sun-position algorithm (NOAA SPA / pvlib) on a Teensy 4.1 / Raspberry Pi 5 stack, ingesting live GPS coordinates for route-aware tracking
• Derive the inter-panel shading constraint for the pontoon’s panel layout and incorporate it into both the efficiency model and the controller
• Assess whole-array vs. per-panel actuation: quantify which delivers better net energy gain per unit cost and weight, accounting for shading and actuator count
• Survey marine-rated sealed actuator options: cost at volume, weight, IP rating, expected service life in saltwater
• Build a closed-loop single-axis azimuth tracker on the prototype pontoon; tune pointing accuracy to ±5° RMS
• Run sea trials in Boston Harbor: log tracked vs. fixed panel power output and motor draw; confirm measured efficiency gain matches model prediction
• Produce analytical efficiency curves (% gain vs. fixed panel) parameterised by latitude and month across Voltic’s global operating range
• Write a commercial recommendation memo and final technical report

B) Autonomous steering of marine vessels

Keywords: Embedded controls · autonomous vessel following · Boston Harbor sea trials

Autonomous vessel platooning — where one vessel follows another through turns, in crosswind, and against current — is a classic guidance and control problem with direct commercial relevance to Voltic’s operations. This project asks: can a self-contained, solar-powered autonomous vessel reliably follow a lead vessel with no wired connection between them and no external coordination?

The intern will research guidance and control strategies for autonomous marine vessel following, select and implement a suitable approach on a self-contained embedded platform, and validate a working prototype through sea trials in Boston Harbor. The follower vessel must be self-powered, sealed for marine use, and capable of maintaining formation with the lead vessel autonomously.

What you’ll do

• Review autonomous marine vehicle guidance and control literature, vessel platooning and convoy-following strategies, and marine autopilot systems; identify applicable prior work and design standards
• Analytically characterize the positioning accuracy required for the follower vessel under wind and current loads; derive the sensing and actuation requirements to maintain formation
• Survey marine-rated actuator and wireless communication options for vessel-to-vessel coordination: cost, weight, IP rating, and expected service life in saltwater
• Design the follower vessel’s self-contained control unit: dedicated solar panel, LiFePO4 buffer cell, Teensy 4.1