Candidate Availability
Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.
About the Role
GITAI is seeking a Mechanical Engineering Intern / Co-op to support satellite bus components, rocket motor hardware, mechanical interfaces, prototypes, ground support equipment, and test fixtures. The role involves taking hardware from concept through design, manufacturing, assembly, testing, troubleshooting, and redesign while working closely with engineers, technicians, suppliers, and test personnel.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, or a related field, completed or expected during 2027.
- At least one year of sustained participation in a technically rigorous student engineering project with meaningful hands-on involvement.
- Experience taking hardware through design, fabrication, assembly, testing, troubleshooting, and redesign.
- Experience with a professional 3D CAD system and ability to read mechanical drawings; SolidWorks is preferred but not required.
- Willingness to work hard, learn quickly, take direct feedback, work across functional boundaries, and perform hands-on engineering work.
- Ability to raise problems early, ask clear questions, and work through ambiguity, setbacks, and changing priorities.
- Ability to work fully onsite in Torrance, California.
- U.S. citizenship due to potential access to export-controlled and government-controlled information.
- Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S.; the role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.
Responsibilities
- Own scoped mechanical hardware through design, manufacturing, assembly, testing, troubleshooting, and iteration.
- Design and update mechanical components, assemblies, interfaces, prototypes, ground support equipment, and test fixtures using 3D CAD and engineering drawings.
- Work with engineers, technicians, machinists, suppliers, and test personnel to turn incomplete requirements into buildable and testable hardware.
- Support fabrication, assembly, inspection, integration, and testing, including instrumentation, data collection, teardown, and post-test inspection.
- Investigate manufacturing problems, integration issues, and test failures and apply findings to hardware iterations.
- Document hardware configurations, design decisions, build issues, test results, and lessons learned.
- Support field tests outside the Torrance office when required.