Precision Motion Control Intern - Milpitas, CA, United States
Manufacturing & Equipment Engineering
Originally posted 13 October 2026 by the employer.
This internship focuses on developing a model-based control framework for a precision motion stage.
About the role
This intern role in the Mechatronics team within KLA's RAPID Division focuses on developing a model-based control framework for a precision motion stage.
What you'll do
- Build a high-fidelity dynamic model from measured stage performance.
- Design a robust controller using modern model-based control methods.
- Deploy the controller to stage hardware and measure its performance.
What you'll need
- Currently enrolled in an MS or PhD program in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
- Coursework or project experience in feedback control systems, including frequency-domain analysis (Bode and Nyquist plots, stability margins).
- Understanding of dynamic system modeling, transfer functions and state-space representations.
- Skill in MATLAB and/or Simulink for modeling, analysis and control design.
- Hands-on lab experience running experiments and analyzing measured data.
- Strong written and spoken communication skills, including documenting and presenting technical results.
Nice to have
- Pursuing an MS or PhD with a focus on control systems, mechatronics or precision motion control.
- Experience with frequency-domain loop shaping and robust control synthesis (e.g., H∞; μ-synthesis).
- Experience with system identification and fitting models to measured FRF data.
- Familiarity with multivariable (MIMO) systems, modal analysis and cross-axis coupling.
- Knowledge of practical controller implementation, including feedforward design, notch and loop-shaping filters, discretization and real-time embedded control.
- Experience with FRF measurement tools, such as dynamic signal analyzers or swept-sine and noise-based excitation.
- Experience with Python for data analysis.
- Experience designing structured test plans and comparing controller performance against a baseline.
Skills: precision motion stage, model-based control, dynamic model, robust controller, system identification, frequency-domain analysis