General Astronautics was founded on the belief that the bottleneck to humanity's expansion into space is labor, not rockets or science. We build autonomous dexterous robots to close the gap on the science that humanity can't afford not to do. We are building the robots that will make orbital manufacturing routine. This is the unlock to new pharmaceutics, new materials, and new planets.
We are hiring exceptional students for engineering roles in Fall 2026. As an intern, you will work directly with your mentor and the founding team on projects that ship to orbit. You will write code, build hardware, and run experiments that show up on the critical path to our upcoming demo mission.
If you have shown academic strength and a track record of building things outside the classroom, you are a strong candidate.
**KEY RESPONSIBILITIES**
_Design and Development_
* Own a mechanism or subassembly from requirements through hardware. You will run the trade studies and support your work with first principles engineering methods.
* Build and iterate detailed CAD models and mechanical drawing’s, and make real calls on materials, tolerances, and assembly sequence for flight-ready hardware.
* Utilize classical and FEA analysis to ensure safe margin and reliability across all load conditions.
_Testing and Validation_
* Write and execute the test plans for your own hardware. Build the fixtures, wire the instrumentation, take the data, and figure out what it means.
* Support qualification and acceptance campaigns, including parabolic flight and on-orbit demo hardware.
* Produce the full design package: drawings, analysis reports, BOMs, and assembly documentation good enough for someone else to build from.
_Optimization and Integration_
* Run cost and manufacturability trades across parallel configurations, and learn to weigh design risk against a schedule that does not move.
* Work across the whole stack with a small team. Your mechanism has to integrate with the robot, the payload, and the vehicle, and you will be in the room for all of it.
**BASIC QUALIFICATIONS**
* Enrolled in a bachelor's degree program in engineering, physics, computer science, or math by the start of employment
* GPA of 3.5 or above
* 6+ months of hands-on technical work outside the classroom (research, project teams, personal builds, prior internships)
* Strong written and verbal communication, comfortable working alongside engineers, technicians, and the founding team
* Thrives in a dynamic startup environment where priorities shift fast
* Proficient in prototyping, order-of-magnitude estimations, and hand calculations
**PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE**
* Experience designing tooling and testing structures
* Mechanisms and electromechanical hardware experience
* Proficient in CAD (Siemens NX, SOLIDWORKS) and simulation (MATLAB, Ansys)
**ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS**
* Minimum 12 weeks on-site in San Francisco
* Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as necessary to support critical project milestones
* U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or eligible for authorization under U.S. export regulations
**COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS**
Pay range: Engineering Intern, Sophomore: $30.00/hour. Engineering Intern, Junior or Senior: $35.00/hour.
General Astronautics is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.
