Intern PLC developer thesis worker

Bring more to life.

Are you ready to accelerate your potential and make a real difference within life sciences, diagnostics and biotechnology? 

At Cytiva, one of Danaher’s 15+ operating companies, our work saves lives—and we’re all united by a shared commitment to innovate for tangible impact.  

You’ll thrive in a culture of belonging where you and your unique viewpoint matter. And by harnessing Danaher’s system of continuous improvement, you help turn ideas into impact – innovating at the speed of life.

Working at Cytiva means being at the forefront of providing new solutions to transform human health. Our incredible customers undertake life-saving activities ranging from fundamental biological research to developing innovative vaccines, new medicines, and cell and gene therapies. 

At Cytiva you will be able to continuously improve yourself and us – working on challenges that truly matter with people that care for each other, our customers, and their patients. Take your next step to an altogether life-changing career.

Learn about the Danaher Business System which makes everything possible.

This position is an opportunity to complete your Master’s thesis within industrial software and automation, investigating the technical implications of migrating UNICORN middleware from Windows to Linux.

The thesis will combine theoretical investigation with practical evaluation, including a limited Proof of Concept (PoC), and explore how operating system and architectural differences affect communication, timing, performance and runtime behaviour.

What you’ll do:

• Evaluate the feasibility of migrating an industrial middleware system from a Windows-based platform to Linux.
• Investigate operating system dependencies, architectural constraints and timing-related properties affecting determinism, latency and reliable communication.
• Explore the middleware’s role as the intermediary between a real-time PLC/control system and a non-real-time host system providing a user interface.
• Develop a limited Proof of Concept (PoC) to assess core middleware functionality on Linux.
• Compare Windows and Linux implementations in areas including performance, latency, resource utilisation and runtime stability under representative workloads.
• Compare practical findings with theoretical differences between the platforms and document your conclusions and recommendations.

The exact scope and research questions can be refined together with the successful student(s).

Who you are:

• Currently enrolled in a Master’s or Civil Engineering programme in Computer Science, Engineering Physics, Electrical Engineering, Automation or a related field.
• Have solid programming skills, preferably in C#.
• Have experience with, or a strong interest in, Linux and operating systems.
• Have an interest in real-time systems, communication, low-level software and industrial automation.
• Have an analytical mindset and enjoy combining theoretical investigation with practical implementation and measurement.
• Are able to document, analyse and communicate technical results in a clear and structured way.

It would be an advantage if you have:

• Experience with embedded systems, real-time systems or middleware.
• Knowledge of CI/CD, cross-compilation, system porting or performance testing.
• Experience with or an interest in industrial automation and PLC-based systems, including MCU-driven platforms or Rockwell Automation systems.

Join our winning team today. Together, we’ll accelerate the real-life impact of tomorrow’s science and technology. We partner with customers across the globe to help them solve their most complex challenges, architecting solutions that bring the power of science to life.

For more information, visit www.danaher.com.