Avionics Engineer Intern

Relativity Space; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 24,000 - 34,000; Part time

Job summary

Relativity Space in Long Beach, CA is seeking an Avionics Intern to contribute to the full lifecycle of avionics hardware for Terran R. You will collaborate across teams to iteratively design, build, test, and deploy hardware capable of surviving harsh launch environments.

The role targets BS/MS students in aerospace, electrical, mechanical, or related fields, offering hands-on work in electronics design, harness routing, CAD, test fixtures, and manufacturing processes within a fast-paced space

Qualifications

• Pursuing BS/MS in aerospace/engineering or related field.
• Familiar with electronics design and CAD tools.
• Willing to learn and apply aerospace knowledge.
• Strong communication and teamwork skills.

Responsibilities

• Participate in electronics design and integration for Terran R avionics.
• Assist with development of test fixtures and measurement setups.
• Support hardware bring-up, debugging, and flight-readiness activities.
• Contribute to harness routing, PCB/assembly work, and documentation.
• Collaborate with propulsion, GNC, and systems teams across the project.

Skills

Electronics design

PCB/PCBA design

Electrical harness design

CAD modeling

Electrical integration

Test fixtures/tools

Education

BS or MS in relevant field

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Logic analyzers

Signal generators

Multimeters

Power supplies

Soldering irons

Hand tools

Job description

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known. Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About The Team

The Avionics team is responsible for the full lifecycle of Terran R’s nervous system, designing, building, testing, installing, and operating the hardware that connects and controls every major electrical system on the vehicle and ground. The team’s structure intentionally combines avionics design, manufacturing, and test to enable rapid iteration and feedback loops. Engineers are deeply embedded into other functions within Relativity, working closely with propulsion, GNC, fluids, and stage engineering teams to ensure seamless integration and operation. Now is a unique time to join: you’ll get to help shape Terran R's fundamental avionics architecture and be given a high degree of ownership on components that will fly.

About The Role

• The Avionics team is responsible for the full lifecycle of electronics, harnessing, enclosures and secondary structure, instrumentation, and GSE hardware central to operating Relativity's rockets.
• The team designs, builds, tests, integrates, and operates the hardware which controls the rocket in flight, downlinks critical telemetry, keeps the public safe, and deploys our customers' payloads to orbit!
• Our hardware enables Relativity to reliably control our rockets while maintaining the flexibility to rapidly iterate our designs. As a member of this team, you will design innovative hardware solutions capable of surviving harsh launch and space environments.
• Your designs will support multiple vehicle systems such as sensors, propulsion, computing, actuation, energy management, and communications.

• As an Avionics Intern you’ll join one of three teams within Avionics:
• • Electrical Development
  • Systems Integration & Test
  • Mechatronics Development
• As the Avionics department is composed of many teams with many different areas of expertise, candidates from a wide variety of engineering backgrounds are encouraged to apply!

About You

• Obtaining BS or MS degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, manufacturing engineering, computer science, or related field.
• Familiarity with at least one of the following areas:
• Electronics design and/or PCBA design
• Electrical harness design and routing
• Mechanical design experience with CAD modeling software
• Bring-up and integration of the electrical system of large-scale systems
• Development of electrical and mechanical test fixtures and tools
• Design for manufacturing, manufacturing process development, manufacturing execution systems
• We believe varied perspectives & backgrounds strengthen our team. Prior experience in aerospace is not required.

Nice To Haves But Not Required

• Experience building electrical and mechanical systems.
• Familiarity with lab equipment like oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, signal generators, digital multimeters, power supplies, soldering irons, and hand tools.
• Collegiate engineering competition experience (Rocketry, Formula SAE, SAE Baja Racing RoboCup, NASA Rover, etc.).
• Prior internship or co-op experience.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.