Pharmaceutical Marketing & Strategy Internship - Summer 2026

Varda Space Industries•El Segundo, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Summer internships will range between the months of May and August. All dates dependent upon the university schedule of the selected students. Internships are full-time and on-site in Los Angeles, CA. Internships at Varda are designed for students who want to work on high-impact, strategically meaningful projects that directly influence the company’s growth. You will work cross-functionally with Marketing and Pharma Business Development leadership to build foundational insights that shape how Varda engages the pharmaceutical industry. This role has evolved from a traditional social media internship into a focused, research-driven marketing strategy position supporting Varda’s pharma initiatives. As a Pharma Marketing & Strategy Intern, you will develop a clear, evidence-based understanding of who Varda’s pharmaceutical audiences are, what they care about, and how Varda should speak to them. Your work will directly inform marketing materials, business development conversations, conference strategy, website messaging, and partner outreach. If you are excited about the intersection of space-enabled manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and strategic storytelling, this role offers the opportunity to produce work that the company will immediately use to drive revenue and partnerships.

Requirements

Currently pursuing or recently completed a degree in Marketing, Business, Life Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biotechnology, or a related field
Strong research and analytical skills with the ability to synthesize complex industry information
Excellent writing and communication skills with attention to clarity, tone, and structure
Interest in pharmaceuticals, biotech, advanced manufacturing, or deep tech
Ability to work independently on ambiguous, strategy-oriented projects

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with pharmaceutical R&D, CMC, manufacturing, or drug development workflows
Experience conducting market research or persona development
Comfort analyzing industry materials such as earnings calls, conference programs, or technical publications
Strong organizational skills and experience building structured research systems (e.g., Airtable, Notion, spreadsheets)
Strategic thinker with the ability to connect technical capabilities to commercial outcomes

Responsibilities

Conduct deep research into pharmaceutical organizational structures, leadership roles, and decision-making processes.
Analyze earnings calls, public interviews, conference talks, published papers, and partnership announcements to understand industry priorities.
Study pharma conference agendas (CMC, formulation, advanced manufacturing, process development) to identify key audience archetypes.
Research small molecule development challenges, especially solubility, crystallization, dosing, and scalability bottlenecks.
Develop 3–4 deeply researched pharmaceutical personas representing high-value target audiences, such as: Pharma R&D leadership CMC and Technical Operations leaders Advanced manufacturing and process development teams Innovation, strategic R&D, and external partnership groups
For each persona, define: Role and organizational context Decision-making authority and influence Core goals and performance metrics Pain points and bottlenecks How Varda’s technology provides value today and in the future Messaging guidance, proof points, and outreach channels
Translate persona insights into actionable marketing outputs.
Provide language guidance that resonates with each persona and identify language to avoid.
Outline how Varda should position itself for early-stage small molecule teams facing solubility and formulation challenges.
Identify where and how each persona is most likely to encounter Varda (conferences, venture introductions, publications, partnerships).
Present findings at the end of the summer to Varda Marketing, Pharma, and Business Development leadership.
Produce 3–4 written persona profiles (1–2 slides each) and a summary comparison table.
Build and maintain an Airtable database tracking key individuals, communication channels, conferences, webinars, publications, and industry touchpoints.
Rewrite a section of the Varda pharma website for a specific persona.
Draft a targeted pharma microsite concept.
Create a one-page pharma explainer.
Develop a persona-specific LinkedIn post or short article.
Outline a pharma-relevant case study or thought-leadership piece.