Mission Operations Engineering Intern – Summer 2027
About The Position
K2 is seeking a motivated Mission Operations Engineering Intern to join their team for a 3-month internship. The intern will work with the Mission Ops Engineering team, gaining hands-on experience with real spacecraft. This role involves executing integrated test campaigns, understanding the satellite bus, and collaborating with engineering teams to validate system health and manage on-orbit satellites. The company is a high-growth Series D-funded company building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, with significant funding and contracts across commercial and US government customers. They are mass-producing high-power satellite platforms for missions from LEO to deep space, aiming to scale to 100 satellites a year and contribute to building toward a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization.
Requirements
- Must be currently enrolled in a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in mechanical, electrical, aerospace, or other relevant engineering discipline
- 6+ months experience of technical engineering skills outside of the university setting classroom (eg: laboratory, research, extracurricular project teams, volunteering, personal projects or prior internship/work experience)
- Available for a minimum 12-week internship in person at our HQ in Torrance
Nice To Haves
- Ability to work well in an integrated collaborative team environment, including frequent interactions with technicians , engineers, and managers
- Experience testing and troubleshooting spacecraft and their related components and systems, including subsystem checkouts and system acceptance testing
- Familiarity with mission operations concepts such as LEOP, telemetry, commanding, fault protection, and anomaly resolution
- Experience working in a clean room and with ESD-sensitive equipment
- Experience operating vehicles in a mission or production setting
- Hands-on experience with HITL or Flatsat software verification testbeds
- Experience or exposure in a test or automation role
- Experience in Python and/or Rust
- Experience with Linux systems
Responsibilities
- Support test procedures (manual and automated) used to confirm spacecraft hardware and software flight worthiness
- Take part in high-visibility integration campaigns for development and flight hardware
- Operate spacecraft (interpret telemetry, send commands) during system tests at the factory, test facilities, launch sites, and during pre-launch operations and space operations
- Identify and elevate off-nominal conditions during test, and drive issues to resolution by engaging with the wider engineering team
- Clearly communicate status, needs, and risks to the entire K2 Space team (and payload providers) during high-intensity operations
- Assess risks associated with different integration, test, and flight approaches, and clearly communicate mitigations and trade-offs
Benefits
- Housing and travel stipend may also be available
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What This Job Offers
Career Level
Intern
