Electro-Mechanical Instrument Intern (Summer 2027)

The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory•Cambridge, MA

About The Position

Draper is an independent, nonprofit research and development company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its multidisciplinary teams work on challenges spanning military defense, space exploration, and biomedical engineering. The Electro-Mechanical Instrument Student Co-op or Intern will primarily support research and development of precision inertial guidance instruments for existing customers. Projects may include electro-mechanical design, thermal model development, magnetics design, materials testing, hardware assembly, testing, and debugging. Work may involve designing instrument components with CAD and FEA tools; consulting with the prototype machine shop about component machinability; working with technicians to build and test hardware; and coordinating with the Center for Additive Manufacturing to produce 3D-printed parts. Students may use CREO and SolidWorks for 3D modeling; ANSYS or COMSOL for analysis; and, depending on the application, LabVIEW and MATLAB. The position is for summer 2027, with dates to be determined. U.S. citizenship is required because of the nature of the work. Draper cannot sponsor or hire individuals holding H-1B or student visas, and dual citizens cannot be accepted for this position.

Requirements

Be a student in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Applied Physics, or a similar field.
Have a minimum GPA of 3.0.
Have hands-on experience.
Have an intuitive understanding of the physical universe.
Be a U.S. citizen. Dual citizens and individuals holding H-1B or student visas are not eligible.

Nice To Haves

Experience with mechanical design using CREO or SolidWorks.
Experience with design, precision mechanics, magnetics, thermal control, electro-mechanical systems, fluids, circuit theory, machine shop interaction, or technical assembly.
Experience with Excel, LabVIEW, MATLAB, or MCAD.

Responsibilities

Support research and development of precision inertial guidance instruments for existing customers.
Contribute to electro-mechanical design, thermal model development, magnetics design, materials testing, hardware assembly, testing, and debugging.
Design instrument components using CAD and FEA tools.
Work with Draper’s prototype machine shop to determine component machinability.
Work with Draper technicians to build and test hardware.
Coordinate with Draper’s Center for Additive Manufacturing to produce 3D-printed parts.