Sustaining Engineer Intern, Grand Rapids Site

About the Role

Acron Aviation is seeking a Sustaining Engineer Intern to join our Recorders Engineering Team in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This role supports the ongoing lifecycle management of existing products by assisting with updates to mechanical designs, drawings, and technical documentation. You will contribute to sustaining and improving released hardware, including structural components, housings, enclosures, and PCB/CCA documentation, while helping preserve critical engineering knowledge through design traceability and documentation improvements. This internship provides hands-on experience working alongside mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, and test engineering professionals supporting aerospace and aviation products.

Key Responsibilities

• Update and maintain mechanical drawings, CAD models, and engineering documentation to reflect approved design changes and as-built configurations.
• Support sustaining engineering activities related to mechanical housings, enclosures, brackets, and structural assemblies.
• Assist with the development, refinement, and documentation of product housings and enclosures, including fit, form, function, and electrical interface considerations.
• Support analysis and documentation activities associated with vacuum-jacketed designs, insulation concepts, materials, and manufacturing methods.
• Revise and maintain mechanical bills of material (BOMs), specifications, and released production drawings.
• Research historical design decisions by reviewing engineering change records, specifications, qualification reports, test data, and legacy documentation.
• Capture and document design rationale, assumptions, and constraints to improve long-term product support and knowledge retention.
• Assist with organizing, standardizing, and improving engineering documentation within configuration and document control systems.
• Collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to clarify design intent and resolve documentation gaps.
• Support production activities, problem-solving efforts, and continuous improvement initiatives as needed.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• Must be able to work onsite in Grand Rapids, Michigan during the internship period.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Ability to analyze technical information and document findings clearly and accurately.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• This position may require access to information, technology, software, or hardware that is subject to U.S. export control laws and regulations. To comply with these requirements, applicants must qualify as a US Person.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with 3D CAD and drafting software such as SolidWorks, AutoCAD, or similar tools.
• Familiarity with mechanical drawings, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T), and tolerance analysis concepts.
• Exposure to enclosure, housing, sheet metal, machined part, or structural assembly design.
• Understanding of thermal management concepts, insulation methods, or vacuum-jacketed systems.
• Ability to research and synthesize information from drawings, specifications, engineering change documentation, and test reports.
• Experience working on engineering design projects through coursework, labs, internships, or extracurricular activities.