Thermal Engineering Intern (Summer 2027)

About the role

As a Thermal Engineering Intern at Impulse, you will support thermal management of spacecraft from concept, analysis, and design, to implementation, testing, and flight while working closely with a fast-paced, agile team that strives to make a high-performance spacecraft from a clean sheet design.

Responsibilities

• Support the development and maintenance of thermal models of spacecraft, systems, and components
• Support the determination of appropriate physical properties, environments, and boundary conditions
• Support the selection and design of thermal management hardware such as heat pipes, radiators, heaters, thermal paint, tape, and MLI
• Support thermal cycle and vacuum testing of components and spacecraft
• Analyze thermal test data to correlate models and improve model fidelity
• Collaborate with design engineers to implement effective thermal management strategies
• Support the evaluation of material properties and thermal requirements
• Document thermal analyses, designs, and test results

Requirements

• Completion or working towards a degree in engineering or science
• Ability to take project ownership and work well in a small team
• Demonstrated understanding of heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics
• Willing and able to work on-site in Redondo Beach, CA for the duration of the internship
• This position may require overtime hours; interns are eligible for overtime pay

Skills

• Hands-on experience designing, building, and testing hardware
• Experience with thermal testing, vacuum testing, or temperature instrumentation
• Familiarity with CAD software and ability to learn new tools
• Experience with Siemens Simcenter, ANSYS Thermal, Thermal Desktop, or similar tools
• Experience with MATLAB, Python, or similar engineering analysis software

Pay

$30.00 per hour

Schedule

12 weeks, May/June to August/September 2027