About the role#
General Astronautics is hiring students for the Winter 2027 Mechanical Engineering Internship. You will work alongside mentors and the founding team on projects that contribute to our upcoming demo mission. This role involves full-cycle ownership of hardware and mechanisms, requiring you to work on-site in San Francisco for at least 12 weeks.
What you'll do#
- Own a mechanism or subassembly from initial requirements through to final hardware.
- Run trade studies using first principles engineering methods.
- Build and iterate detailed CAD models and mechanical drawings.
- Make decisions regarding materials, tolerances, and assembly sequences.
- Use classical and FEA analysis to verify safe margins and reliability.
- Write and execute test plans, build fixtures, and wire instrumentation.
- Support qualification and acceptance campaigns.
- Produce complete design packages including BOMs, analysis reports, and assembly documentation.
- Evaluate cost and manufacturability trades.
- Integrate mechanisms with the robot, payload, and vehicle.
What you'll need#
- Enrollment in a bachelor's degree program in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or math.
- A GPA of 3.5 or higher.
- At least 6 months of hands-on technical experience outside of the classroom.
- Proficiency in CAD software such as Siemens NX or SOLIDWORKS.
- Experience with simulation tools like MATLAB and Ansys.
- Background in prototyping, order-of-magnitude estimations, and hand calculations.
- Experience designing tooling and testing structures.
- Experience with mechanisms and electromechanical hardware.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to thrive in a startup environment and work extended hours or weekends when project milestones require it.
Location & details#
- Location: San Francisco, California, United States.
- Term: Winter 2027.
- Modality: On-site.
- Status: Full-time, paid internship.
- Eligibility: U.S. citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident.
About General Astronautics
General Astronautics is a robotics engineering firm based in San Francisco. Founded in 2025, the company develops systems for microgravity research and manufacturing. It focuses on processes that benefit from space environments, such as protein crystallization and semiconductor production. The team consists of four employees.
How to get in at General Astronautics
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