Optical Terminals & Space Networking Internship, Fall 2026

Ephemeris Net•Oakland, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

We are looking for engineering interns to work directly on our two core products: optical terminals for space-based laser communications and the networking service that connects satellites into a space network. By the end of this internship, you will have worked on something that either goes to space (if working on hardware or embedded firmware/software) or pushes forward the technical capability of our internal network and node simulation. Your specific project will depend on your background and where Ephemeris Net's needs are sharpest when you start. We will match you to a project that is both meaningful to the company and a strong learning opportunity for you. Example Projects Upcoming intern projects include: Design and implement optical transceiver FPGA firmware Build a space network simulator Design and fabricate test fixtures or mechanical subsystems for optical terminal prototypes or their test fixtures Build high speed optoelectronic communication test equipment Write embedded flight software What You Will Learn How optical terminals work: from photonics and beam steering to link acquisition and tracking How space networking differs from terrestrial networking: delay, disruption, orbital dynamics, and protocol design How to take a technical project from various start stages to end stages: from scoping through implementation to integration with a production system How to interact with professionals as part of a small, focused engineering team that ships hardware and software for space How This Role Works You will be assigned a mentor who works on the product area closest to your project. You will have regular check-ins and direct access to them for technical guidance. Before you start, we will meet to understand your strengths and growth goals and come up with a project for you. You are expected to scope your project, execute, and present your results to the team at the end of the internship.

Requirements

Demonstrated ability to build things: personal projects, research, coursework, or prior internships where you wrote code, designed hardware, or ran experiments that produced tangible results
Strong fundamentals in at least one of: embedded systems and FPGA development, software engineering (C, C++, Python, or Rust), optical or mechanical design, electrical engineering, information theory, or networking and simulation
Ability to work on-site in El Segundo, CA or Oakland, CA for a minimum of 3 months, 3 days a week
Must be a US person (15 CFR § 772.1)