2027 Machine Learning Engineer Undergrad Intern

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space— delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space.

The Aerospace Corporation is hiring a Machine Learning Engineer Undergrad Intern for the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Department (DSAID) within the Information Systems and Cyber Division (ISCD). The selected candidate will be required to work full-time, onsite at our facility in Chantilly, VA or El Segundo, CA. 

Information Systems and Cyber Division (ISCD) staff work with the latest in information system technologies, such as elastic compute clouds, containerization, microservices, real-time operating systems, and visualization frameworks, with expertise in cyber security, software architecture, software engineering, data science, Artificial Intelligence, process improvement, and software development to deliver responsive, resilient, high-performance software intensive systems to our Intelligence Community, DoD, and civilian customers. 

DSAID consists of a diverse team of engineers, data scientists, and programmers with a passion for researching, prototyping, understanding, and building AI and data enabled tools across the space enterprise.  We are a growing, innovative, and collaborative department providing technical expertise in AI and Machine Learning to many of Aerospace’s customers, such as the Missile Defense Agency, NASA, Space Development Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office.  We apply data science and AI knowledge across the space enterprise, to Aerospace enterprise capabilities, and towards corporate workforce development and strategic focus areas.

Machine Learning Engineers work on teams spanning various disciplines, experience levels, and organizational boundaries. 

What You’ll Be Doing 

• Developing and executing machine learning and data science experiments, in the domains of natural language processing, computer vision, time series analysis, reinforcement learning, etc. 
• Evaluating technologies and data science models for use in scalable and resilient mission-critical applications 
• Collaborating with teams of various sizes to deliver features and products 
• Presenting written and verbal results to customer stakeholders. 

• Reinforcing an environment of learning and progress with team members and others 

What Corporate Skills You’ll Bring   

• Strong written and oral communication skills 
• Must work well in a team environment 
• Possess organizational, time management and project management skills 
• Demonstrate flexibility and ability to adapt to changing organizational need 
• Interpersonal skills to coordinate efforts and work with other internal and external organizations 

What You Need to be Successful    

Minimum Requirements   

• Currently enrolled full-time in an accredited college/university program pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related discipline.    
• Availability to work full-time for a minimum of 10 weeks outside of university term and ability to return to a degree program full-time after completion of the internship.  
• Minimum GPA of 3.0    
• Proficiency in Python, including major ML libraries and tools (PyTorch)  
• Understanding of container orchestration tooling (Docker, Kubernetes, etc.) 
• Understanding of machine learning and artificial intelligence, software engineering, and statistics 
• Experience with and understanding of software engineering concepts with an AI focus (MLOps/DevOps, ML Development Lifecycle, Scalable ML Architecture, etc.) 
• Familiarity with MLOps processes and tools (MLFlow, Data Version Control etc.) 
• Knowledge of computer vision design or natural language processing applications leveraging ML models.  
• Familiarity with Unix/Linux operating systems 
• Working knowledge of cloud native application development or cloud infrastructure, Microservice architectures 
• This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance. 
• Transcripts required.   

How You Can Stand Out  

It would be impressive if you have one or more of these:   

• GPA 3.5 or higher   
• Active security clearance  
• Strong leadership skills 
• Familiarity and / or experience with one or more of the following:
  • High Performance Computing hardware for ML (GPUs, TPUs), CUDA programming, and advanced ML optimization techniques and architectures 
  • Experience with Slurm, Kubernetes or other cluster job orchestration frameworks leveraging GPU resources to run distributed ML training jobs at scale 
  • Experience with building ML Solutions on edge and embedded hardware (ARM devices, Jetson Series, etc.) 
  • Experience with Distributed and stream data processing, big data frameworks (Hadoop, Spark, Flink etc.) 
  • Experience building scalable Agentic and Generative AI solutions for narrow-scoped use cases 

  Temporary housing assistance is not available.

We offer a competitive compensation package where you’ll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to our business.  The grade-based pay range for this job is listed below.  Individual salaries within that range are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge and skills.

(Min - Max)

$26.00 - $30.00

Pay Basis: Hourly

Leadership Competencies

Our leadership philosophy is simple: every employee, regardless of level and role, can demonstrate leadership. At Aerospace, our commitment is our people. To cultivate our talent and ensure that we have a strong pipeline of future leaders, we want individuals who:

• Operate Strategically
• Lead Change   
• Engage with Impact   
• Foster Innovation   
• Deliver Results  

Ways We Reward Our Employees

During your interview process, our team will provide details of our industry-leading benefits.

Benefits vary and are applicable based on Job Type.  A few highlights include:

• Comprehensive health care and wellness plans

• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation

• Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options

• 401(k) Plan — Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire

• Flexible spending accounts

• Variable pay program for exceptional contributions

• Relocation assistance

• Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career

• Education assistance programs

• An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect

We are all unique, from various backgrounds and all walks of life, yet one thing bonds all of us to each other—the belief that we can make a difference. This core belief empowers us to do our best work at The Aerospace Corporation.

Equal Opportunity Commitment

The Aerospace Corporation is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, color, religion, genetic information, marital status, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, or disability status and any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. If you’re an individual with a disability or a disabled veteran who needs assistance using our online job search and application tools or need reasonable accommodation to complete the job application process, please contact us by phone at 310.336.5432 or by email at peoplemangmnt.mailbox@aero.org . You can also review Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal.