Avionics Mechanical Engineer - Summer Internship 2027

Location: Playa Vista, California, United States Department: Internships

Advanced Reentry Technologies

Who We Are

Inversion is an aerospace and defense company pioneering advanced reentry technology to enable next-generation capabilities from space. By combining high-performance materials, precision aerodynamics, and mission-driven autonomy, Inversion is transforming reentry into an operational capability for an entirely new class of missions.

The company’s highly maneuverable reentry spacecraft, Arc, is designed for rapid global cargo delivery, hypersonic testing, and other national security missions that require precise, controlled flight through the atmosphere. Arc creates an entirely new transportation domain, unlocking unprecedented speed and global reach.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Inversion designs, manufactures, and integrates its spacecraft under one roof, enabling the company to move rapidly from concept to flight. The company is backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, with customers across the U.S. government and commercial space industry.

Position Overview

As an Avionics Mechanical Engineering Intern, you will support the design, build, integration, and testing of mechanical hardware that enables Inversion’s flight avionics systems. You will sit within the Avionics team and work closely with electrical, RF, embedded software, manufacturing, and vehicle engineering teams to develop robust mechanical solutions for flight-critical electronics and avionics systems.

You will gain hands-on experience taking hardware from early design concepts through detailed design, prototyping, fabrication, integration, and environmental testing. This is a practical, hardware-focused internship for students interested in aerospace structures, mechanical design, electronics packaging, thermal management, mechanisms, and rapid hardware development.

Key Responsibilities

Work closely with avionics and mechanical engineers to design, build, integrate, and test mechanical hardware for flight avionics systems.

Support the design and packaging of flight computers, electronics, RF systems, sensors, batteries, and other avionics components.

Create and modify 3D CAD models, assemblies, drawings, and manufacturing documentation.

Support mechanical design reviews, including tolerance analysis, fastener selection, interfaces, manufacturability, and assembly considerations.

Build and evaluate prototypes and engineering test articles using machining, additive manufacturing, sheet metal, composites, or other fabrication processes.

Support vehicle-level avionics integration, including mechanical interfaces, mounting, harness routing, connector access, grounding/bonding provisions, and serviceability.

Participate in environmental testing such as vibration, shock, thermal cycling, and thermal-vacuum testing.

Assist with troubleshooting mechanical integration issues and rapidly develop hardware solutions to unblock testing and vehicle integration.

Collect, analyze, and document test data and support generation of engineering reports and design documentation.

Required Qualifications

Must be enrolled in a bachelor’s, master's or doctorate degree program in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related engineering discipline.

GPA of 3.0 or above.

3+ months of applied engineering experience (internship, laboratory, and personal/team project experience is applicable).

Coursework or project experience in mechanical design, structures, materials, manufacturing, thermal systems, or related disciplines.

Experience using a 3D CAD package such as SolidWorks, Creo, NX, Fusion 360, or similar.

Strong problem-solving, written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate technical results clearly to multidisciplinary teams.

Desired Qualifications

Hands-on experience designing and building mechanical hardware.

Experience creating engineering drawings with GD&T and appropriate manufacturing tolerances.

Experience with machining, CNC, sheet metal, additive manufacturing, composites, or other fabrication processes.

Familiarity with structural analysis, FEA, thermal analysis, or mechanical simulation tools.

Experience designing mechanical hardware for electronics or embedded systems.

Understanding of fasteners, joints, materials, tolerances, and mechanical interfaces.

Experience with vibration, shock, thermal, or other environmental testing.

Experience designing hardware through Formula SAE, student rocketry, CubeSat, robotics, or similar engineering projects.

Experience working with PCBs, connectors, cables, harnesses, sensors, or other avionics hardware.

Familiarity with aerospace hardware development, configuration control, or engineering change processes.

Previous internship experience at a space, aerospace, or hardware startup.

Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in-office presence.

The California annual base hourly rate for this role is currently $38-$41. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.  Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.

ITAR Compliance

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Inversion provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard