Internship or Graduation: General Autonomous Shipping

Career at Damen: Internship or Graduation in General Autonomous Shipping

About us

The Research, Development & Innovation (RD&I) department of Damen helps the company to become the most sustainable and digitally connected shipyard in the world. We support the business in developing an innovative product portfolio and offer pro-active advice to further improve the quality and performance of Damen products and services. The RD&I department is divided into Research, Development, and Enabling Technologies branches, comprising six research teams. Damen invests substantially in its own internal R&D projects and is also very active in collaborative R&D projects with industry partners, academia, and knowledge institutes, both nationally and internationally.

You contribute to this growth while benefitting from the diverse development and career opportunities that our company offers. We will continue to challenge you. With our extensive portfolio of products and solutions, you will never get bored and never stop learning. We offer you a world of possibilities. Working at Damen means contributing to the highest quality in shipbuilding, with an eye to the future and future generations. We want to make the world a better place by becoming the most sustainable maritime solution provider. For that, we need you. Become part of our family.

The role

As a student working for the automation research team, you will work on novel technologies related to autonomous shipping. This includes both full autonomy and captain support systems, which are steppingstones towards full autonomy. Autonomous shipping is a broad knowledge area, including topics such as vessel dynamics and control, sensing and sensor fusion, machine learning, collision avoidance, remote command and control, IT and telecom, simulations, human-machine interfacing, and the development of modular hardware and software to make it all work together. Depending on your background, we will together choose the best topic for you to work on. We can accommodate both internships and graduation projects and have roles for both BSc and MSc students.

Key accountabilities

• You will be responsible for answering a specific research question (e.g., what sensors to use for autodocking), or for the development of a tool for RD&I (e.g., set up an autonomy simulator in ROS).
• You may perform (Matlab) simulations, or work with our full-mission bridge simulator, our model boats in a water basin, or our full-size test vessel, depending on the specific assignment.
• You will have one of our researchers as your daily supervisor, who will ensure the executed work fits Damen’s expectations.

Skills & experience

At least several skills/experiences from the following list are required to be considered:

• BSc/MSc engineering student with a strong background in one or more of the following: control, robotics, machine learning, mechatronics, (embedded) software, HMI design
• Proficient in simulation skills (e.g., MATLAB/Simulink, Python), robotics control (ROS), and/or other low-level language skills (i.e., C, C++ etc)
• Experience with network interfacing (e.g., hardwired IOs, ethernet, Modbus) and/or standardized protocols (i.e., NMEA, etc)
• Good command of English, especially in writing.

Knowledge areas are mainly:

• Perception: Sensing the environment
• Awareness: Assessing the relevance of sensed data to your situation and defining a safe path
• Control: Control strategy to optimally travel the chosen path

What we offer

• An internship/graduation fee and travel allowance will be paid for the duration of the assignment.
• A pleasant and dynamic, international work environment with an informal atmosphere
• Mentoring at academic level will be available throughout the internship.

Due to housing issues, we cannot accept international students that do not have accommodation in the Netherlands yet. Be aware that this assignment is available year round, so we would like to hear what your ideal starting date would be.

Email: liselotte.van.veenendaal@damen.com