Mechanical Engineering Intern (Spring 2027)
Second Order Effects started in 2016 as a services firm tackling complex engineering problems from first principles. We’ve grown into a solutions firm that designs and delivers complete custom electronics and systems—power electronics, RF, and control systems—across industries. Our designs control rocket engines, manage satellite communications, instrument fusion reactors, and reach consumers worldwide. We approach problems by breaking them down to fundamental components, ensuring solutions that span use cases and engineering disciplines. Training and empowering our team is central to our mission, and we expect every member to contribute to building up those around them. Recently, we’ve begun spinning out our own concepts into separate companies focused on frontier technology, including space, fusion and fission energy, and advanced vehicles.
About the role
As a Mechanical Engineering Intern, you will play a hands-on role in designing, developing, and testing complex mechanical systems for customer-facing projects. You’ll contribute across the full development lifecycle—from initial concept and simulation through prototyping, validation, and integration—working on mechanisms, enclosures, structural analysis, and precision assemblies for manufacturability. This internship is designed to accelerate your technical growth while allowing you to make an immediate impact.
Responsibilities
- Contribute to the design of mechanical systems for customers across various industries
- Utilize CAD and simulation tools to develop structural, thermal, and tolerance analyses for electromechanical assemblies, using both hand calculations and FEA
- Design and analyze active and passive thermal management systems for custom electronic systems and packaging solutions
- Participate in test campaigns to validate hardware performance under shock, vibration, thermal, and other environmental stresses
Requirements
- Current enrollment in college (Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, Robotics, or related field)
- Experience in designing, modeling, simulation, and testing of electromechanical components or assemblies
- Experience with hand calculations, finite element analysis (FEA), and computer-aided design (CAD)
- Demonstrated passion and curiosity for mechanical engineering
- Strong problem-solving skills and initiative to overcome technical challenges
- Strong written and verbal technical communication skills; ability to explain design decisions and component selections
Skills
- Experience in team-based design and build projects (e.g., Formula SAE, Solar Car, CubeSat, Rover Challenge, etc.)
- Familiarity with circuits and electrical engineering fundamentals
- Familiarity with manufacturing processes, such as machining, injection molding, water jetting, electro-discharge machining, and 3D printing
- Familiarity with generating thermal models for electronic assemblies; experience with thermal analysis of electronic devices using FEA and CFD modeling
- Experience with high-precision 3D printing processes and design for complex systems
- Ability to analyze and estimate structural loading from environmental sources
- Experience with fatigue and thermal testing of electromechanical assemblies
- Understanding of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T)
Pay
$70,400 annual salary, prorated for length of internship
Benefits
- Flexible work hours and work-from-home policy
- 100% employer-paid health insurance (Medical, Dental, Vision) for employees + 50% dependent coverage
- Accrued paid time off, accrued sick days, and paid company holidays
- 401(k) retirement account with employer matching (Safe Harbor 4%)
- Housing stipend bonus
- Electric Vehicle (EV) charging ports
- Catered lunches, snacks, and accessible kitchen