Software Engineering Intern

About the role

Terranova constructs advanced robotic systems designed to terraform the Earth itself by fundamentally reshaping the planet through elevating land, revitalizing wetlands, and shielding vital infrastructure from rising sea levels and devastating floods. The organization aims to protect existing human creations, foster entirely new natural ecosystems, and establish a lasting period of plentiful resources for future generations. This ambitious initiative spans climate adaptation strategies, emergency disaster restoration efforts, and national security operations throughout the United States and international territories. The team actively seeks dedicated individuals eager to contribute to tangible, physical, and massive-scale endeavors that genuinely reshape civilization.

Key facts

What you'll do

1) Create and sustain high-performance web applications using TypeScript, React, Next.js, Node, FastAPI, or Go for diverse platform needs.

2) Construct and manage robust distributed backend services utilizing Postgres, Redis, and asynchronous task queues to process heavy workloads.

3) Oversee infrastructure-as-code deployment processes using Terraform or CDK across AWS, GCP, or Azure to ensure reliable global scaling.

4) Establish continuous integration and delivery pipelines alongside automated testing, observability, and incident-response workflows to maintain system stability.

5) Coordinate closely with product and robotics groups to connect data streams, telemetry feeds, and complex control interfaces effectively.

6) Develop both customer-facing applications and internal utility tools that address various operational needs across the entire organization.

7) Engage in comprehensive full stack application development from initial concept through final deployment and ongoing maintenance cycles.

8) Adapt quickly to the rapid tempo and demanding nature characteristic of early stage startup environments and culture.

9) Pursue a bachelor's degree or advanced qualification in Computer Science or a closely related technical discipline currently.

10) Maintain United States permanent residency status to fulfill mandatory employment eligibility requirements without any visa sponsorship complications.

11) Guarantee availability for part-time on-site presence at the Berkeley office location throughout the entire internship duration.

Requirements

1) Demonstrate strong proficiency in modern web technologies including TypeScript, React, Next.js, Node, FastAPI, or Go for backend and frontend work.

2) Possess hands-on experience managing distributed databases like Postgres and fast caching systems such as Redis within production environments.

3) Have prior professional experience working on platform or infrastructure teams at organizations like Vercel, Cloudflare, or Amazon Web Services.

4) Bring previous product engineering experience from high-performance organizations such as Stripe or Notion to understand demanding product standards.

5) Understand modern authentication protocols specifically OAuth and OIDC for secure application access management and identity verification processes.

6) Show a verifiable history of building personal projects or gaining substantial relevant industry experience outside of formal education.

7) Be currently enrolled in a bachelor's degree program or pursuing an advanced qualification in Computer Science or related field.

8) Hold U.S. permanent residency to satisfy the mandatory visa and work authorization condition required for this specific position.

9) Exhibit comfort with the pace and intensity of early-stage startup life where rapid iteration and ownership are essential.

10) Demonstrate the ability to be on-site part-time at the Berkeley office as required by the internship arrangement.

Nice to have

1) Maintain a strong track record of creating personal hobby projects or shipping relevant industry work that demonstrates initiative.

2) Utilize GitHub Actions or Argo to automate deployment and continuous delivery workflows effectively across multiple environments.

3) Implement comprehensive monitoring solutions like OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, or Sentry for system observability, alerting, and performance tracking.

4) Develop native mobile applications for both iOS and Android operating systems with confidence and practical experience.

5) Contribute to open source projects or community tools that showcase a genuine passion for software craftsmanship and collaboration.

Skills & tools

1) TypeScript for writing type-safe and scalable application code across the entire project stack and diverse microservices.

2) React and Next.js frameworks for constructing responsive, dynamic, and highly interactive user interface components efficiently.

3) Node, FastAPI, or Go to build robust, efficient, and scalable server-side application logic and API endpoints.

4) Postgres and Redis for managing persistent relational data storage and fast in-memory caching operations reliably.

5) Terraform or CDK to define, version, and manage cloud infrastructure through declarative code and automation.

6) AWS, GCP, or Azure as the primary cloud providers for hosting, deployment, and global resource management.

7) OAuth and OIDC protocols for implementing secure authentication and authorization mechanisms within modern web applications.

Practical notes

1) The fall internship runs from September through December, with exact start and end dates depending entirely on your personal schedule.

2) Compensation includes an hourly rate between twenty and twenty-eight dollars plus relocation assistance and various company perks for the intern.

3) You must be capable of working on-site part-time at the Berkeley office location during the internship period as required.

4) Review plan.Terranova.inc to understand the specific type of web development work and technical challenges required for this position.

5) This is a full-time engagement role where you will own significant portions of the cloud and infrastructure layer directly.