Additive Engineering Intern (Spring 2027)

Freeform; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 41,000 - 48,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Free daily catered lunch and dinner

Fully stocked kitchenette

Casual dress

Flexible work hours

Regular catered team building events

Job summary

Freeform is seeking an Additive Engineering Intern (Spring 2027) to help develop and scale metal 3D printing processes, including DFAM feedback, file preparation, toolpath automation, part quality analysis, and end-to-end process improvements. You will work closely with mechanical, electrical, software, and manufacturing engineers to support print development for high-volume production.

3D printing experience is not required; we value smart, motivated, collaborative engineers who enjoy solving

Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in a bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering from an ABET accredited university or college.
• Hands on design experience from internships or engineering clubs such as FSAE, Baja SAE, solar car, rocket club, robotics club, or similar.
• Strong grasp of mechanical engineering fundamentals and comfortable taking a first-principles approach to solving problems.

Responsibilities

• Own a cradle to grave project that delivers meaningful impact to critical print factory capabilities or customer print workflows
• Support all stages of print development including design for additive manufacturing feedback, file preparation, printing, post-processing, and quality control
• Analyze in-situ data and post-print part quality to drive continuous improvement in system performance
• Use first-principles thinking to define problems, develop test methods, evaluate solutions, iterate, and provide technical recommendations

Skills

First-principles thinking

Collaborative engineering

Strong fundamentals

Problem solving

Education

ABET accredited mechanical or aerospace engineering program

Tools

MATLAB scripting

DFM & GD&T

CNC machining

Job description

Additive Engineering Intern (Spring 2027)

ADDITIVE ENGINEERING INTERN (SPRING 2027)

Freeform builds AI-native manufacturing systems that unify software, hardware, and physics to produce industrial-scale parts at the speed of human ideation. By treating manufacturing as a single integrated system, we unlock a new era of innovation where complex hardware is designed, built, and scaled without limits.

As an Additive Engineering Intern at Freeform, you will contribute to the development and scaling of our advanced metal 3D printing processes, including design for additive manufacturing (DFAM) feedback, print file preparation, toolpath automation, part quality analysis, and end-to-end process improvement. You will work closely with mechanical, electrical, software, and manufacturing engineers to support all stages of print development for high-volume production. Interns at Freeform own meaningful cradle-to-grave projects. Using first-principles thinking, you will help define test methods, evaluate solutions, iterate quickly, and synthesize information from engineering drawings, in-situ machine data, post-processing results, and inspection data to draw conclusions that improve printing and downstream machining processes.

3D printing experience is not required to be successful here - we look for smart, motivated, collaborative engineers who love solving hard problems and creating amazing technology!

• Own a cradle to grave project that delivers meaningful impact to critical print factory capabilities or customer print workflows
  
• Support all stages of print development including design for additive manufacturing feedback, file preparation, printing, post-processing, and quality control
• Analyze in-situ data and post-print part quality to drive continuous improvement in system performance
  
• Use first-principles thinking to define problems, develop test methods, evaluate solutions, iterate, and provide technical recommendations

Basic Qualifications:

• Currently enrolled in a bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering from an ABET accredited university or college
• Hands on design experience from internships or engineering clubs such as FSAE, Baja SAE, solar car, rocket club, robotics club, or similar
• Strong grasp of mechanical engineering fundamentals and comfortable taking a first-principles approach to solving problems

Nice to Have:

• Advanced degree (Master's, PhD) in mechanical or aerospace engineering
  
• Experience with metal 3D printing or additive manufacturing processes
  
• Experience with process development for metal additive manufacturing
  
• Scripting experience in MATLAB or similar tools for toolpath generation
  
• Experience with DFM and GD&T
  
• Experience with CNC machining
  
• Passion for improving the state of metal 3D printing
  
• Comfortable working in fast-paced, ambiguous environments and iterating quickly (comfortable building the plane as we fly it)
  
• Strong communicator who collaborates across disciplines and proactively seeks support when needed
  
• Willing to take ownership of tasks big and small, with a hands‑on, problem‑solving mindset
  
• Strong work ethic with a refuse‑to‑fail mindset
  
• Demonstrated indicators of excellence and/or achieving success against adversity (i.e. top academic performance, leadership in engineering clubs, first‑generation college student, or other examples of resilience and achievement)

Location:

Based in Hawthorne, our vertically integrated facility brings technology development, R&D, and production together under one roof. We operate at the center of LA’s deep tech ecosystem, surrounded by some of the most ambitious hardware innovation happening anywhere in the country.

What We Offer:

• We have an inclusive and diverse culture that values collaboration, learning, and making deliberate data‑driven decisions
• We offer a unique opportunity to be an early and integral member of a rapidly growing company that is scaling a world‑changing technology
• Compensation and Benefits
  • The compensation for this role:
    • Engineering Intern/Undergraduate: $30/hour
    • Engineering Intern/Masters: $32.50/hour
    • Engineering Intern/PhD: $35/hour
    • Typical working weeks include regular opportunity for overtime
  • Relocation assistance provided
  • Free daily catered lunch and dinner, and fully stocked kitchenette
  • Casual dress, flexible work hours, and regular catered team building events
• Freeform is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values diversity; employment with Freeform is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Export Compliance: Due to the nature of various Freeform customers, the person hired will have access to information and items controlled by the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), and, therefore, must be a “U.S. person” as defined in the ITAR which include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e., Green Card holders), and certain protected individuals (e.g., refugees/asylees, American Samoans). Please consult with a knowledgeable advisor if you are unsure whether you are a “U.S. Person.”

If "Other", please explain:

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Freeform’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

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