Summer 2026 Vehicle Intern, Draper

Ursa Major • Berthoud, CO

22h • $29 • Onsite

About The Position

Join us for a hands-on, full-time summer internship experience at our Berthoud, CO location! Ursa Major’s Summer 2026 Internship Program offers students the opportunity to gain real-world experience in the aerospace and defense industry while contributing to meaningful, high-impact projects that support our mission and drive innovation in propulsion and advanced manufacturing. As a Vehicle Intern , Draper you will contribute to the design, analysis, integration and test of a hypersonic vehicle. You will work within a small team as we develop hardware that pushes the limits of what is possible with respect to reliability and functionality to enable our engines to be best in class. You will need to be driven, detail oriented, and focused to support efforts to continually improve, and respond to quick development programs while guaranteeing the high performance and maintainability of our products.

Requirements

• Currently enrolled in a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience in design and analysis of structures and components.
• Familiarity with ANSYS Mechanical.
• Good proficiency of incompressible and compressible fluid mechanics.
• Experience with CAD tools (e.g., CATIA, NX, SolidWorks).
• Understanding of manufacturing techniques, including machining and additive manufacturing.
• Ability to operate with cross-disciplinary teams and contribute to technical decisions.

Nice To Haves

• Exposure to liquid-propellant rocket engines and propulsion systems design.
• Experience with geometric dimensioning and tolerancing per ASME Y14.5.
• Programming experience with Python or Matlab/Simulink.
• Hands-on experience with hardware and design for manufacturing.
• Experience with SMC-S-016 Test Requirements.
• Hands-on experience with hardware and design for manufacturing as part of engineering clubs such as Formula SAE, Rocketry, or Hyperloop.
• Genuine passion in the field of aerospace propulsion.

Responsibilities

• Design hypersonic structures, liquid propulsion systems and propellant management devices, as well as tooling, fixtures and ground-support equipment.
• Design and analyze modifications of existing components and prototypes to increase performance, improve manufacturability or resolve limitations.
• Develop vehicle manufacturing and systems integration workflows.
• Conduct subcomponent development and acceptance tests.
• Support and develop design tools.
• Work with team members to scope, study and define new and existing hardware features.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern