Summer 2027 - Mechanical Engineering Intern, Air Vehicle Systems and Test #6465+

Shield AI•Seattle, WA

12d•$38 - $65

About The Position

Shield AI’s Summer Internship program is a paid opportunity for students graduating in the fall or spring to contribute to a real company project, receive hands-on mentorship, and potentially receive a job offer at the end of the internship. Interns can also participate in company-sponsored events and explore a new city. The Air Vehicle Systems and Test teams develop, integrate, and verify the mechanical and fluid systems that enable Shield AI’s autonomous aircraft to function as complete vehicles. Their work spans actuation and mechanisms, fluid and thermal systems, equipment installations, test hardware, instrumentation, and interfaces with structures, electrical systems, propulsion, and manufacturing. The intern will work alongside engineers on a scoped project addressing a real program need, taking it from requirements and concept development through design, build, test, data review, and design improvement. Projects may involve aircraft hardware design and integration, a component or subsystem test stand, an environmental-test fixture, or a new test method. The intern will contribute to adjacent team needs as well. Other duties may be assigned as team needs evolve.

Requirements

Currently pursuing an undergraduate, graduate, or Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related STEM field.
Strong foundation in mechanics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, physics, and mathematics, with sufficient electrical and programming fluency to work on multidisciplinary hardware.
Experience on a multidisciplinary hardware project through an internship, job, research lab, student team, club, or personal project.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Demonstrated history of taking ownership of project outcomes and delivering exceptional results.
Record of working hard, being a trustworthy teammate, holding oneself and others to high standards, and treating others with kindness.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Siemens NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, Creo, or a similar 3D CAD tool; Siemens NX is preferred.
Hands-on experience with machining, additive manufacturing, composite or sheet-metal fabrication, mechanical assembly, or rapid prototyping.
Familiarity with load, strain, pressure, flow, temperature, vibration, or motion measurement and basic data-acquisition systems.
Experience using MATLAB, Python, LabVIEW, or similar tools to process, visualize, and interpret engineering data.
Experience with test fixtures, actuators, electric motors, pumps, mechanisms, fluid systems, thermal systems, or other electromechanical hardware.
Demonstrated adaptability, agility, and ability to innovate under pressure to meet dynamic project demands and drive successful outcomes.

Responsibilities

Own a scoped design project and contribute to adjacent team needs.
Translate the project objective into requirements, interfaces, success criteria, a build plan, and a test approach with support from a mentor and project stakeholders.
Develop CAD models and drawings for brackets, mounts, tooling, fixtures, routing, or other hardware, considering loads, tolerances, access, manufacturability, and maintainability.
Use first-principles calculations and appropriate engineering tools to size hardware, make tradeoffs, predict performance, and identify technical risks before testing.
Support fabrication, procurement, assembly, instrumentation, checkout, and troubleshooting of test articles, fixtures, and related hardware.
Define instrumentation and data-acquisition needs, write test procedures, and support component or subsystem testing under mentor supervision.
Reduce and interpret test data, compare results with requirements and predictions, document conclusions, and recommend practical design or test-process improvements.
Participate in design and test reviews, maintain engineering documentation, and present work and results at the end of the internship.