Vehicle Software Engineer - Summer Internship 2027

Inversion • Los Angeles, CA

7d • $38 - $41 • Onsite

About The Position

As a Vehicle Software Engineering Intern at Inversion, you will help develop software systems that enable next-generation reentry vehicles to operate reliably in space and on the ground. Working alongside flight and ground software engineers, you will build, test, and deploy software supporting spacecraft development, qualification, and mission operations.

You will own a meaningful, well-scoped engineering project from requirements and design through implementation, testing, and delivery. Depending on team priorities and your interests, your work may involve flight software, ground systems, hardware integration, or automated testing infrastructure. This hands-on internship offers students the opportunity to build production-quality software that will remain in use after the internship.

The role is based at Inversion’s headquarters in Playa Vista, California, and requires in-office presence for the duration of the internship. The California annual base hourly rate is currently $38–$41. Pay is determined case by case and may vary based on interviews and candidate-specific factors, including job-related skills, education, experience, certifications, abilities, and internal equity. To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, candidates must meet the stated ITAR eligibility requirements.

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Demonstrated software development experience through personal projects, engineering teams, research, open-source contributions, or previous internships.
• Experience programming in at least one language such as C, C++, Rust, or Python.
• Strong understanding of software engineering fundamentals, including debugging, testing, data structures, and software design.
• Familiarity with collaborative development tools and practices such as Git, code reviews, or automated testing.
• Strong problem-solving skills, curiosity, and ability to work independently through unfamiliar technical challenges.
• Ability to communicate technical ideas clearly and collaborate effectively with engineers across disciplines.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State, to meet ITAR requirements.
• Must be able to work in the office for the duration of the internship.

Nice To Haves

• Experience developing software that interacts with physical hardware, embedded systems, or robotics platforms.
• Familiarity with Linux development environments and command-line tooling.
• Experience developing test automation, simulation software, or continuous integration pipelines.
• Familiarity with networking concepts and communication protocols such as TCP/IP, UDP, Ethernet, CAN, UART, or SPI.
• Experience with embedded Linux, device drivers, or low-level systems programming.
• Hands-on experience with spacecraft, rocketry, CubeSats, robotics, Formula SAE, autonomous vehicles, or similar engineering projects.

Responsibilities

• Own a well-scoped software engineering project from requirements definition and technical design through implementation, validation, and deployment.
• Design, develop, and test software supporting spacecraft flight systems, ground operations, or engineering test infrastructure.
• Develop and integrate software with physical hardware, simulation environments, or existing flight and ground software systems.
• Write automated tests and contribute to software verification using unit testing, software-in-the-loop (SIL), hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), or processor-in-the-loop (PIL) environments.
• Collaborate with flight software, avionics, simulation, and other engineering teams to solve technical problems.
• Participate in software design reviews, code reviews, debugging, and integration testing.
• Document technical designs, test results, and software functionality, and present the completed project to the engineering team.

What This Job Offers

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