Embedded Systems Hardware Graduate Research Assistant- Fall 2026 - Applied Embed

The Electronic Systems Laboratory (ELSYS) is currently seeking Embedded System Software Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) in the Applied Embedded Systems (AES) Division for the Fall of 2026.

GTRI's GRA program offers you extensive opportunities to participate in diverse scientific and technological endeavors, use state of-the-art equipment and rapidly improve your technical and leadership skills.

AES predominantly focuses on the research, development, testing, and deployment of embedded electronic and electromechanical systems. These systems are used for electronic warfare, control, communications, avionics, entertainment, physiological monitoring, and other uses.

This broad range of research will provide a solid foundation for the student as a future embedded systems engineer. The student will work under the guidance of GTRI researchers performing research in one or multiple of the following areas -

• Sensing and processing broad bands of the electromagnetic spectrum including Electronic Warfare Applications
• Technology Insertion efforts porting legacy system functionality to modern FPGA-based designs
• Embedded software development for electronic warfare systems
• Creating a complex electromagnetic environment used to test Aircraft Protection systems
• Digital Signal Processing
• Mechanical Engineering efforts supporting legacy avionics systems reverse engineering and modeling
• Researching and deploying processes, tooling and practices of modern software engineering
• Data engineering, infrastructure and automation
• Open Architecture hardware standards development and prototyping efforts

The student researcher will perform one or more of the following activities -

• Design, implement, and unit-test embedded microcontroller firmware (C/C++), including device drivers, communication protocols, and hardware interface logic.
• Develop and maintain user-facing GUIs (e.g., in Python, C#, or web frameworks) that interface with embedded systems for configuration, control, and data visualization.
• Implement and integrate database interfaces (SQL/NoSQL) to store, query, and manage data produced by embedded devices and test tools.
• Participate in system integration and hardware-in-the-loop testing, including debugging issues across firmware, GUI, and backend components using lab instrumentation and software tools.
• Create and maintain technical documentation for code, interfaces, communication protocols, and test procedures to support knowledge transfer and reproducibility.
• Collaborate with researchers and engineers to refine requirements, perform code reviews, and follow software engineering best practices (version control, issue tracking, CI/CD where applicable).

Graduate Research Assistant

• Pursuing a Master's degree or PhD at Georgia Tech in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field
• Must be enrolled full-time (12+ credit hours)
• Must have a 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA
• Commit to 15-20 hours of work per week

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to perform research independently
• Ability to prioritize tasks while working on multiple projects
• Strong math skills and ability to learn complex engineering concepts
• Experience with schematic capture or board layout
• Ability to clearly communicate technical ideas to a non-technical audience

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