Hardware Intern

Brumby; Whitsunday Regional; On-site; AUD 185,000 - 277,000; Full time

Job summary

Brumby is looking for 2–3 ambitious university students to join us in the Whitsundays, North Queensland, for a two-week, fully paid on-site internship to build and test our next generation of long-range drone hardware.

You’ll work directly with Brumby’s engineering team, assembling mechanical systems, wiring components, troubleshooting issues, and helping prepare hardware for field deployment. Expect a steep learning curve and hands-on, real work rather than a passive internship.

Qualifications

• Currently studying at university, ideally engineering or a related technical discipline.
• Good with your hands and comfortable working with tools.
• Hungry to learn, willing to work hard, and happy to get stuck into whatever needs doing.
• Strong attention to detail and pride in building things properly.
• Able to work independently, solve problems, and pick up new skills quickly.
• Available to spend two weeks on-site in the Whitsundays from 11 November.
• Full Australian working rights.

Responsibilities

• Assemble and prepare our next generation of long-range drone infrastructure for deployment.
• Work on mechanical assemblies, structural components, and integrated hardware systems.
• Assist with wiring, electronics integration, and general hardware assembly.
• Troubleshoot mechanical issues and help improve assembly processes.
• Support quality checks, testing, and final product preparation.
• Work alongside our engineering team to get hardware out the door and into the paddock.

Skills

University student

Hands-on

Willing to learn

Detail oriented

Self-motivated

Two weeks on-site

Australian working rights

Education

Engineering or related

Tools

Drone hardware

Mechanical assembly

Electronics wiring

CAD experience

Personal projects

Job description

The Company

Founded in 2025 by Sam Rogers, who grew up managing 6,000 head on a North Queensland cattle station, Brumby builds autonomous drones that move and monitor cattle across the world's largest properties. We're replacing helicopters and motorbikes with drones that herd cattle, count herds, and monitor pasture on their own. Our drones launch from a dock, fly the paddock, do the work, and come home.

We went through YC (W26) and raised a seed round from some of the best investors in Silicon Valley. Our team is small and highly technical, and we're already working with some of the largest ranches in the world. Engineering is based in Sydney, but the work happens everywhere. We work hard because our ranchers do.

The Role

Start date: Wednesday 11 November 2026

We're looking for 2-3 ambitious university students to join us for two weeks in the Whitsundays, North Queensland. It's paid, with all expenses covered.

We're in the middle of building our next generation of long-range drone infrastructure, getting it ready for deployment on some of the biggest cattle stations on the planet. There's a mountain of hands-on mechanical work to get through, and we need some extra hands.

You'll work directly alongside our team, assembling mechanical systems, preparing components, troubleshooting problems, and helping get our latest product ready for the field.

This isn't an internship where you'll spend two weeks watching over someone's shoulder. You'll be building real hardware that's about to ship.

Expect long days, a steep learning curve, and a ridiculous amount of hands-on experience.

Must-haves

• Currently studying at university, ideally engineering or a related technical discipline

• Good with your hands and comfortable working with tools

• Hungry to learn, willing to work hard, and happy to get stuck into whatever needs doing

• Strong attention to detail and pride in building things properly

• Able to work independently, solve problems, and pick up new skills quickly

• Available to spend two weeks on-site in the Whitsundays from 11 November

• Full Australian working rights

Strong advantages

• Experience building drones, RC aircraft, robots, or other hardware

• Mechanical assembly, fabrication, or workshop experience

• Familiarity with electronics, wiring, soldering, or 3D printing

• Experience with CAD or mechanical design

• Personal projects you've built, broken, and figured out how to fix

We care a lot more about what you've built, how quickly you learn, and your willingness to get your hands dirty than your GPA.

The Work

• Assemble and prepare our next generation of long-range drone infrastructure for deployment

• Work on mechanical assemblies, structural components, and integrated hardware systems

• Assist with wiring, electronics integration, and general hardware assembly

• Troubleshoot mechanical issues and help improve assembly processes

• Support quality checks, testing, and final product preparation

• Work alongside our engineering team to get hardware out the door and into the paddock

The Setup

• Starts Wednesday 11 November 2026

• Two-week, fully on-site paid internship in the Whitsundays, North Queensland

• Full expenses covered on top of pay

• Based on a station, around 20 minutes from the beach and Airlie Beach

• Work directly alongside Brumby's engineering team

• Hands-on experience building hardware for autonomous aircraft operations

• A chance to get your foot in the door at a fast-moving robotics startup, with the opportunity to stay on as a part-time technician in Sydney for the right candidates

• We finish with a jetski trip around the Whitsunday Islands

We're a young team building something pretty ambitious. We move fast, figure things out as we go, and spend a lot of time working on problems that haven't been solved before.

If spending two weeks building drones on a station in North Queensland sounds like your kind of thing, we'd love to hear from you.