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Opto-Mechanical Engineering Intern (Summer 2027)

Impulse· Internship
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Redondo Beach, CA$32/hrInternPosted 1mo ago

About the role

Impulse Space is seeking an Opto-Mechanical Design Engineer Intern to support the development of precision optical systems for spacecraft. The role focuses on mechanical design of optical assemblies and related hardware to be flight-ready, with potential to support, own, or lead designs from architecture through flight qualification. 12-week internship (May/June–August/September 2027) based in Redondo Beach, onsite.

Responsibilities

  • Design opto-mechanical hardware for spacecraft optical systems, including lens barrels, telescope structures, detector mounts, optical benches, mirror mounts, baffles, flexures, kinematic mounts, and precision alignment features.
  • Design mechanisms used in optical systems, including gimbals, focus mechanisms, launch locks, adjustable mounts, fast steering mirror interfaces, voice-coil or limited-angle actuation systems, motorized stages, and pointing assemblies.
  • Develop mechanical architectures that support optical performance requirements such as element spacing, decenter, tilt, detector placement, boresight alignment, line-of-sight stability, and alignment retention.
  • Work with optical engineers to convert optical prescriptions, lens layouts, chief ray constraints, pupil locations, detector tolerances, and stray light constraints into practical mechanical designs.
  • Support the development of athermalized optical barrels and precision camera/telescope assemblies for high-accuracy star tracker and optical payload applications.
  • Create CAD models, drawings, tolerance stackups, GD&T, BOMs, interface control documents, assembly procedures, and test fixture designs.

Qualifications

  • Recent completion or currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Optical Engineering, Physics, or related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
  • Experience with mechanical design, precision hardware, opto-mechanical systems, mechanisms, aerospace hardware, or related engineering work through coursework, internships, research, or professional experience.
  • CAD experience with NX, SolidWorks, Creo, CATIA, or similar mechanical design software.
  • Understanding of mechanical drawings, GD&T, tolerance analysis, materials, fasteners, manufacturing processes, and assembly constraints.

Skills

Required:Mechanical designCAD softwareGD&T and tolerance analysis
Nice to have:Opto-mechanical hardware design

Benefits

  • Overtime pay available for interns (if required)
  • Long-term incentives may be available for full-time hires (stock options)
  • Medical, vision & dental coverage; access to 401(k) retirement plan (for full-time hires)
  • ITAR/EAR compliance and export license considerations included as part of employment eligibility
Last updated Sep 17, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Impulse

Accelerating our future beyond Earth

Accelerating our future beyond Earth

spacevehiclesmobilitypayloads
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