R&D Engineering Intern

About the role

Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) is seeking enterprising students for a Summer 2027 engineering undergraduate internship titled Fostering Opportunities in Research & Government Engineering (FORGE). The program aims to identify rising seniors graduating in May 2028 who are interested in full‑time employment at ARL. Interns will conduct research to enhance their readiness for careers in national security. The position is fully on‑site in State College, PA. ARL’s mission is to research and develop innovative solutions to challenging scientific, engineering, and technology problems in support of the Navy, the Department of Defense, and the Intelligence Community.

Responsibilities

• Support for engineering testing, data analysis, and data display
• Hands‑on work in a laboratory environment
• Use of multiple computing languages, analysis tools, simulations, and measurements
• Networking with program sponsors

Requirements

• Must be a rising senior (graduating May 2028)
• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Subject to a government security investigation
• Must be eligible to obtain a government security clearance
• Must participate in the ARL drug testing program
• Must comply with electronic and physical monitoring requirements applicable to federal contractors
• Must successfully complete background check(s) per University policies
• Must successfully complete a pre‑employment drug screen
• Personal electronic devices brought onsite must be registered and may be restricted from certain areas

Qualifications

• Mechanical Engineering with interest in robotics programming
• Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering with interest in Aeroacoustics, AI for data analysis, fluid measurement techniques, or numerical methods
• Mechanical, Aerospace, or Chemical Engineer with a focus in thermodynamics, structural design, or advanced materials
• Mechanical, Aerospace, Chemical, or related Engineering discipline with a focus in forward‑thinking research and development (experimental or computational)
• Electrical Engineer with an interest in signal processing
• Electrical, Mechanical, or Aerospace Engineers with an interest in guidance and control, and programming experience
• Industrial Engineering or Math with interest in operations research and modeling of dynamic systems
• Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science with an interest in applied mathematics and software engineering for a future in advanced signal processing, embedded software development, and hardware design
• Information Science and Technology or Computer Science with interest in system integration
• Mechanical or Chemical Engineering with interest in thermodynamics, structural design, or advanced materials
• Applicants must submit a cover letter and resume that includes GPA
• Cover letter must address the technical disciplines within ARL the applicant has interest in and why