Software Engineer Intern (Undergraduate Students) presso Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, MA

About the Department

The MBTA Reliability Engineering department facilitates and assures safe and reliable service and performance of each transport mode. The objectives of Reliability Engineering are:

• To achieve and then maintain a State of Good Repair for all infrastructure and vehicle assets.
• Model and predict asset performance and reliability.
• Introduce a continuous improvement ethos to improve quality of infrastructure and compliance
• Develop technical documentation in repository accessible to relevant stakeholders.

The Reliability & Configuration Engineering team is responsible for documenting processes and procedures for asset data and lifecycle management as well as provide technical guidance in supporting the MBTA’s Enterprise Asset Management (EAMS) systems.

We are looking to hire two (2) software engineering interns, whose studies focus on Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field, to work on various projects with existing staff and its consultants. The interns will work directly with Software Developers and report to the Director of Reliability Engineering, under the Office of the Chief Engineer. The interns will work 2 - 3 days in-office and 2 - 3 days remote (up to 40 hours per week) for six (6) months with potential for extension.

Position Duties

• Assist with existing software development projects, including any of the following:
  1. Greenfield development of automated processes, web applications for desktop and mobile devices in-the-field, primarily in Python and TypeScript (React)
  2. Development and implementation of computerized software development reporting, analytics, and dashboards, in Splunk and Tableau
  3. Examining and implementing automated solutions to reliability data gathering and organizing against the Enterprise Asset Management system (EAMS)
  4. Investigating and documenting application programming interface (API) behaviors, following OpenAPI documentation standards
  5. Architecting a cross-browser extension for streamlining and simplifying end-user processes
  6. Configuring and building unit-testing solutions and automated validations, in a mix of Windows-based command-line tools, Python, and GitHub Actions workflows
  7. Building automations and interfaces around behaviors where API capabilities are missing, using tools for web-scraping (BeautifulSoup4), browser emulation (Selenium), and application emulation (PyAutoGUI)
• Assist with project coordination, including organizing meetings and communicating with consultants and other departments on project needs and deliverables.
• Create reports and presentations.
• Adhere to industry-standard agile software development practices, such as git workflows, code reviews, scrum, and retrospectives.
• Participate in team / staff meetings, organization events, fieldwork, project teams, or other duties as needed.
• Perform all other duties and projects that may be assigned.

* The statements contained in this job description are intended to describe the general nature and complexity of the work being performed by staff assigned to this job and do not represent an exhaustive list of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities required of staff assigned to this position. The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here-in are representative of those an employee may encounter while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations can be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Minimum Qualifications

• Enrolled, for entire duration of employment, in an undergraduate program of an accredited college / university in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field.
  • This position is for undergraduate students only. Graduate students will not be considered.
• Knowledge of industry-standard and cooperative software development practices such as Agile
• Above average Python development skills and proficiency within the Python ecosystem, such as Pytest, Pylint / Flake8 / Black, and Pip / Pipenv / Virtual environments.
• Above average web application development skills for desktop and mobile devices, including React
• Experience with Progressive Web App (PWA) tooling.
• Above average proficiency with XML/XSL, HTML5, CSS, JavaScript.
• Above average knowledge of software development in a Windows environment
• Experience with various scripting tools and languages, as well as database design and tools
• Experience with Windows Server 2019
• Experience with written reports and time estimates for upper management and stakeholders
• Above average project management, analytical, organizational, time management, and interpersonal skills
• Ability to map business processes and implement them across departments
• Above average proficiency in Microsoft Office
• Ability to work within an active railroad and maintenance environment and associated physical constraints
• Ability to effectively work with employees at all levels within the Authority, vendors, and individuals outside the agency
• Experience and interest in transit or transportation preferred
• Above average analytical and problem-solving skills
• Above average attention to detail
• Above average communication, analytical, and presentation skills
• Ability to independently commute to assigned work locations in the Boston, MA metro area, as required by the role.
• Authorized to work in the United States (international students in CPT, STEM, or OPT programs through a university are eligible to apply).

* The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and complexity of the work being performed by staff assigned to this job and do not represent an exhaustive list of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities required.