Thermal Engineering Intern Fall 2026

Rocket Lab Corporation•Long Beach, CA

6d•Onsite

About The Position

As a Thermal Engineering Intern based at Rocket Lab’s site in Long Beach, California, you’ll join a team that handles thermal control for all of the spacecraft and spacecraft components in the Rocket Lab portfolio. This team serves as subject matter experts on thermal engineering for the rest of the company and its subsidiaries and will occasionally support thermal teams on the launch services side. Thermal engineers get to own design, analysis, and implementation across all product lifecycles and business units.

Requirements

Must be enrolled in a bachelor’s, master's or doctorate degree program in an engineering, physics or math discipline and have at least one semester of school remaining post internship
GPA of 3.0 or above
3+ months of applied engineering experience (internship, laboratory, and personal/team project experience is applicable)
Able to work full-time, on-site for a minimum of 12 consecutive weeks beginning August or September 2026.

Nice To Haves

GPA of 3.5 or above
6+ months of applied engineering experience (internship, laboratory, and personal/team project experience is applicable)
Thermal engineering experience
Experience using CAD/CAM
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) machining experience
Experience using a lathe machine

Responsibilities

Work closely with your mentor and other employees within the department to apply your knowledge and grow your skills both technically and professionally
Work with a fast-paced group of professionals to apply engineering and industry concepts to solve real challenges
Attend frequent 1:1’s with mentors and supervisors to facilitate success and learning while providing progress updates
Enjoy tech talks and network with other interns and employees through social and professional events