KEB America’s Internship Program Experience

 
Each summer, KEB America welcomes college students into its internship program, offering an opportunity to gain real-world experience in an engineering and manufacturing environment.

As a manufacturer of motion control and industrial automation solutions, we typically host interns who are electrical, mechanical, or computer engineering students seeking hands-on experience with variable frequency drives (VFDs), HMIs, IO, PLCs, software, servo motors, and brakes and clutches.

KEB interns collaborate with experienced employees, contribute to active company projects, and develop practical skills that go beyond the classroom. Through this program, students gain a clearer understanding of how their education translates into industry practice while building relationships and laying a strong foundation for their future careers.

From Software to Service: Roles Across the Business

KEB America’s internship program spans multiple disciplines, offering opportunities for students with a range of academic and technical backgrounds. Whether you’re pursuing a degree in engineering, technology, or a hands-on technical field, there’s a role designed to put your skills to work.

Typical internship opportunities include:

• Software Design Engineering — Work on embedded systems, automation software, and custom application development that powers KEB’s drive and control products.
• Mechanical Design Engineering — Contribute to the design and development of mechanical components and assemblies within a live production environment.
• Electrical Design Engineering — Support electrical systems design, schematic development, and hardware integration across KEB’s product lines.
• Lab Technology — Work alongside engineers in a testing and evaluation environment, supporting product validation and quality processes.
• Service & Repair — Gain hands-on experience diagnosing, troubleshooting, and repairing KEB drives and control systems, working directly with real products and customer solutions.

Each role offers the same core experience, meaningful project work, mentorship from experienced team members, and a close-knit environment where your contributions are felt.

Hands-On, In-Person Experience at KEB

KEB’s internships are in-person and full-time positions during the summer months, allowing interns to participate in the day-to-day operations of the business. From the beginning, they are given the tools and support they need to succeed within their roles.

Working on-site provides access to KEB’s in-house production facility, where interns can see how their work connects to the final product. This environment allows them to think beyond theory and gain experience with real systems, processes, and challenges.

Throughout the three-month program, interns work on a variety of projects that support the company’s initiatives.

For example, two of the projects Sam Maruska worked on during his 2021 mechanical design engineering internship focused on the performance and design of KEB’s spring-applied brakes. One project analyzed how brakes respond to applied power and the resulting temperature changes, while another involved reviewing the coil design process.

Sam enjoyed the creative side of his work, designing and building machines to test various products while gaining hands-on experience with tools.

“There’s a lot of opportunities here at KEB, where what I’m passionate about outside of work really starts to bleed into my work here,” he said.

By applying problem-solving skills and using the tools available to them, interns expand their knowledge beyond what they learn in the classroom.

Mentors, Colleagues, and the People Who Shape You

While project work is a core part of the internship program at KEB, interns quickly discover that the projects themselves are only one part of the experience.

Interns work with engineers, managers, and team members who provide guidance throughout the summer. Individual projects build technical depth, while daily collaboration builds something harder to teach: professional confidence and a sense of belonging in a real engineering environment.

Working alongside other experienced employees gives interns insight into how teams operate, how decisions are made, and how teamwork is carried out in the office.

Don Pham, a software engineering intern at KEB America in 2022 and a student at the University of Minnesota, worked on KEB’s F6 elevator drive, an in-house product developed using C, C#, and Python.

During this time, Don honed his skills in embedded systems programming. Additionally, he contributed to an automated testing system in C#, built desktop applications, and participated in firmware development.

“Because they trust me, I’ve been able to gain a lot of experience and take on tasks I normally wouldn’t, even ones I didn’t think I could do,” said Pham.

Don enjoyed collaborating with colleagues in Spain and Germany and is proud of the work he has done when he sees elevator drives deployed in real-world applications worldwide.

“They do expect high things from me, but it really helped me grow as a person and as a software engineer,” Pham added. “My communication skills and software engineering skills have really improved.”

Team Building within the Intern Community

At the start of the program, KEB organizes a team-building event to help new interns connect early and build relationships outside of the office. Last year, the group took on an escape room challenge, working together to solve puzzles and get to know one another.

While the interns often come from different academic backgrounds, many find this experience helpful in easing their way into the program and getting to know who they’ll be working around.

As the summer continues, interns often fall into their own routines, such as coordinating lunch together or taking part in the series of food trucks that KEB America hosts at the office throughout the summer.

KEB also organizes a company-wide summer party, giving interns an opportunity to build connections outside of their immediate teams, and interact in a more casual environment.

What to Expect: Software Engineering Internship

Students from Computer Engineering or Computer Science backgrounds can choose between low-level firmware development or higher-level programming within our automated test systems.

“The software engineering internship is far from a stereotypical ‘coffee and paper-pushing’ role,” says Michael Belsky, engineering manager. “It is an immersive experience where interns work with our elevator products destined for real-world field use.”

Software engineering interns contribute to high-impact projects such as elevator programming, control systems for product testing, and optimizing production line efficiency.

Because many projects involve safety-critical systems, they are taught to prioritize robust, fully tested solutions, often utilizing Test-Driven Development (TDD) to ensure code quality before it ever reaches the high-power lab or Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing.

Belsky adds, “We seek curious, motivated candidates with advanced C and C# skills who consistently exceed the scope of their assigned tasks.”

By the end of the three-month summer term, interns will learn how to:

• Set up and navigate complex development environments.
• Define and implement features while managing bug fixes.
• Understand the build and release lifecycle.
• Build engineering routines and practices that serve as a foundation for a long-term career.

Intern Spotlight: Software Design Engineer

Brenen Olson, a returning Software Design Intern, reflects on the positive experience that brought him back to KEB and is now guiding him toward a full-time role.

During his internship, Brenen worked on a variety of software projects beyond the structured scope of his role, allowing him to explore and pursue what he was personally passionate about.

 
“My biggest project, and the one I’m continuing as I join full‑time, is a resource manager for an inventory system,” said Olson. “This project has required multidisciplinary knowledge, and I’ve learned a ton along the way.”

He also appreciated the close-knit community in the office and how that environment set interns up for success.

“Compared to the large companies that many Computer Science students feel pressured to chase, KEB is a smaller, more intimate environment,” he said. “Because of that, I genuinely felt that my work mattered and was helping real people.”

Presenting Professional Growth

At the end of the summer, interns present what they’ve learned throughout their internship. Not only does this give them a way to show their work and reflect on their experience, but allows them to practice presenting technical concepts in a professional setting.

These presentations give other interns the opportunity to learn from one another, while also giving mentors insight into the value and collective impact the internship had on them.

Presentations are often recorded and shared with the interns for them to use as a tool for school credit, a resume builder, or an item in their professional portfolio as they begin their careers.

In one case, a student from Hennepin Technical College assembled motion control demo units and received academic credit for a class project. Each demo unit features KEB’s S6 servo drive, an 8000-rpm servo motor, a DC power supply, COMBIVIS software for programming, and a DIN rail for mounting I/O and PLCs.

While building the equipment, the intern documented his process and presented a unit to his class, effectively linking his hands-on work experience to his classroom learning.

Long-Term Impact

KEB America’s internships can lead to opportunities beyond the summer, including the potential for a full-time job offer.

The skills gained throughout the program extend beyond a single role, helping interns grow academically and professionally. From technical development to communication and collaboration, the internship prepares students for future roles and projects.

An internship experience here is much more than a summer position. It’s a chance for students to learn, grow, and build a solid foundation for their professional paths.

Jacob Kearin, an electrical engineering student at Dunwoody College of Technology, interned as an electrical design engineer in 2021. Based in the R&D lab, he dedicated much of his time to building a brake-testing panel. Through this experience, he gained valuable insights into brake physics, industrial wiring techniques, and the integration of complex components.

Jacob highly recommends KEB America to anyone looking to break into industrial automation. “For anybody out there looking for a high-quality internship in the industrial automation sector, I really can’t recommend KEB enough, said Kearin. “Everybody here is so easy to work with. It’s a very low-stress environment. The opportunities just seem endless.”

Apply for a KEB Internship

If you’re interested in one of our summer internship opportunities, visit the KEB America careers page to learn more.