Intern/Associate Engineer, All Roles
Starpath
About the Role
Starpath develops and manufactures technologies for living on the Moon and Mars, focusing on robotic systems for essential commodities like water, power, and oxygen. The ultimate goal is to build and operate a self-sustaining city on Mars. This role hires early-career engineers on a rolling basis throughout the year, including Interns (currently enrolled students) and Associates (recent graduates or Master's students). Candidates will work on real hardware alongside senior engineers with ownership from day one, across various programs and disciplines.
- Location: Los Angeles (Hawthorne), CA
- Employment Type: Internship
- Department: Engineering
- Travel: Occasional
- Application Type: Rolling / Ongoing
Key Responsibilities
- Own a scoped project as a contributing member of a discipline team — design, analysis, test, manufacturing, or process development.
- Ramp on Starpath's engineering process, tools, and technical stack under mentorship.
- Contribute to design reviews, test campaigns, and manufacturing improvements.
- Present your work internally and, for interns, at the end of your internship.
- Take on progressively harder problems as you build depth.
- Ask hard questions and push back when something doesn't make sense.
Requirements & Tech Stack
- For Interns:
- Currently enrolled in a Bachelor's or Master's program in engineering, chemistry, materials science, physics, computer science, or a related discipline.
- Must be a rising junior or senior at the time of the internship and returning to school at the end of the internship for at least one quarter/semester.
- For Associates:
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in engineering, chemistry, materials science, physics, computer science, or a related discipline.
- 0-2 years of full-time experience (internships and academic research are applicable).
- Collegiate project team or laboratory experience (e.g., Formula SAE, Baja SAE, Aero Design, Rocketry / IREC / Spaceport America Cup, Solar Car, Robotics (FRC/VEX), CubeSat/small satellite teams, or comparable).
- CAD skills (any platform) and ability to make high quality engineering drawings, or equivalent discipline-specific hands-on tool proficiency.
- Demonstrated hands-on fabrication, laboratory, or build skills.
- High competence with, and fluid use of, engineering first principles in your discipline.
- U.S. Person status is required for access to export-controlled data.
Preferred Qualifications
- Prior internship experience and/or leadership on a collegiate project team or research laboratory.
- Depth in a specific discipline through research, senior projects, or industry work.
- Experience with industry-standard tools in your discipline (e.g., NX/Teamcenter, SolidWorks, or Onshape for mechanical; FEA/CFD for analysis; wet chemistry and characterization for materials; embedded C for controls software).
- Ability to integrate across disciplines — mechanical, electrical, software, or chemistry.
- Experience with machining, sheet metal, 3D printing, laser cutting, PCB assembly, or comparable fabrication skills.
- Coursework or research in areas relevant to space, chemistry, materials, robotics, or manufacturing.
EAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, you must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident, Refugee, or Asylee, or be eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations.