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Captain’s Message The aerospace industry is among the fastest-growing industries worldwide. In 2025, the market size was estimated at 402.75 billion USD and is projected to double by 2034.

At Queen’s Aerospace Design Team (QADT), we are dedicated to pushing boundaries with the development of high performance & autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for national and international competitions in Canada, Europe, and the United States. With the continued growth in industry aerospace applications in recent years, QADT has seen an unparalleled expansion, and our dedicated team of more than 150 undergraduate students has not disappointed.

This year, the AEAC technical team developed 2 UAVs from the ground up to compete at the AEAC 2026 student competition hosted in Ottawa. This included a 3D printed vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drone to map urban fires, as well as a heavy-lift quadcopter designed to autonomously extinguish fires using a water gun. While in parallel, the AIAA technical team developed a fully carbon fiber fixed wing aircraft optimized for long range cargo flights and banner towing.

Alongside the technical teams, the QADT research branch wrote two research papers for submission to the IMAV conference paper call and the VFS student design competition. Respectively, these papers focused on the application of compliant airfoils on efficiency gains in flight and the conversion of a tilt rotor aircraft to a hybrid electric engine to prove the feasibility of electrifying the aerospace industry!

QADT offers a unique opportunity for development and growth for students in any discipline, including gaining technical experience in aero-mechanics, Electrical, and Software, and the opportunity to conduct research in a variety of unique fields, as well as the chance to gain experience in business and management.



QADT is looking to continue its rapid growth and expansion by taking on like-minded individuals to not just continue the development of advanced drone technology but push the boundaries of what student teams are capable of.

We eagerly await your application.

‘Aviation is proof that given the will, we have the capacity to achieve the impossible.’

— Eddie Rickenbacker, WWI flying ace

Erin Payne

Mechatronics & Robotics Engineering ‘28

Purujit Kantiya

Mechatronics & Robotics Engineering ‘28

The QADT Simulation sub-team focuses on software architecture, simulation environments, and autonomous control systems for micro-aerial vehicles. Our role within QADT is to bridge robotics software with physical hardware, testing autonomous flight, navigation, and computer vision algorithms in virtual worlds before they are deployed in real life.

Last season, our sub-team achieved international recognition by placing 2nd overall in the global qualification phase of the International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS) UAV Competition, earning the chance to travel to Greece to compete in the world finals. We are currently preparing simulation pipelines and autonomous algorithms for upcoming collegiate competitions, with our sights set on future ICUAS competition cycles (2026/2027).

As a member of the Simulation team, you will have the opportunity to develop high-demand robotics skills from the ground up, design and test your own flight algorithms, and directly contribute to software used to compete on an international stage. Your primary responsibilities include:

- Develop Simulation Environments: Design and build 3D virtual worlds, obstacle courses,



and competition challenge arenas using Gazebo to benchmark drone performance safely.
- Implement Flight Control & Navigation: Write and test Python and C scripts in ROS 2 to command drone movement, waypoint navigation, and autonomous search routines.
- Build Computer Vision Pipelines: Integrate camera feeds and computer vision algorithms (such as OpenCV) for real-time target recognition, QR code detection, and environmental perception.
- Maintain Development Workflows: Utilize modern software tooling, including Docker, Linux/Bash, Git, and GitHub to ensure clean, reproducible code across the entire team.
- Collaborative Testing & Problem Solving: Work alongside team members to brainstorm autonomy solutions, troubleshoot code, and optimize how our simulated drones perform in dynamic challenge scenarios.

A member of the Simulation sub team can expect to gain skills in the areas of:
- Robotics Frameworks: ROS 2 (nodes, topics, services, launch files)
- Physics & Sensor Simulation: Gazebo / Ignition 3D world and model development
- Programming Languages: Python and C for robotics control
- Development Tooling: Docker containerization, Git/GitHub version control, and Linux/Bash
- Autonomous Systems: Path planning, velocity/position control, and computer vision (OpenCV)
- Team Engineering: Agile-style team collaboration, collaborative debugging, and project integration

Application & Interview Details

We do not look at your resume as a deciding factor. We weigh it the least compared to your written application and interview.

DEADLINE TO APPLY: September 19th, 2026 (11:59 PM EST)

Interviews will occur in person after the deadline. We are happy to provide accommodation for these interviews, so please reach out to us and let us know how we can make the process more accessible for you!

Contact Information

Please email any questions or concerns to aero @engsoc.queensu.ca or text @queensaero on Instagram!

📌 Queen's Aerospace Design Team (QADT) - Simulation Team Member (Canada)
🏢 EngSoc
📍 Canada