Intern - Device Build

Flynavi; San Francisco, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 27,552,000 - 41,328,000; Full time

Job summary

Navi builds hardware that flies in real aircraft. This hands-on internship lets you assemble, test, and ship Navi devices used in cockpits at flight schools and military squadrons.

You will work with hardware, firmware, and software teams, diagnose failures, and improve fixturing and documentation while gaining fast feedback when units fail. A strong hands-on builder will thrive here.

Responsibilities

• Assemble, wire, and bench-test Navi devices — audio capture, mounting hardware, cable harnesses, enclosures
• Diagnose failures on returned or field-reported units and feed what you learn back into the build
• Help improve the build itself — fixturing, assembly documentation, anything that makes the next hundred units faster and more reliable than the last hundred
• Track inventory, components, and BOMs so we never stall a deployment waiting on a part
• Assist in preparing shipments, and willing to learn and assist in other tasks too
• Work alongside engineers across hardware, firmware, and software to close the loop between what we build and what pilots actually experience

Job description

Navi captures everything a pilot sees and hears and turns it into automated debrief intelligence — sortie-level awareness that has never existed before. None of it works without the hardware in the aircraft. That's what you'll build.

About the role

This is a hands-on hardware internship. You'll build, test, and ship the devices that fly in real aircraft at university flight schools and military squadrons. Every unit you assemble ends up in a cockpit, capturing data a pilot and instructor will sit down and review that same day. Nothing here is a prototype exercise. Navi is already live at leading flight schools.

You'll work directly with our hardware and engineering teams, and you'll see the consequences of your work fast — if a unit fails, you'll hear about it, and you'll be part of fixing it.

What you'll do

Assemble, wire, and bench-test Navi devices — audio capture, mounting hardware, cable harnesses, enclosures

Diagnose failures on returned or field-reported units and feed what you learn back into the build

Help improve the build itself — fixturing, assembly documentation, anything that makes the next hundred units faster and more reliable than the last hundred

Track inventory, components, and BOMs so we never stall a deployment waiting on a part

Assist in preparing shipments, and willing to learn and assist in other tasks too

Work alongside engineers across hardware, firmware, and software to close the loop between what we build and what pilots actually experience

About you

Currently pursuing a degree in engineering, or equivalent hands‑on experience — we care more about what you've built than where you're enrolled

Comfortable with hand tools, wiring and basic electronics debugging

Careful and consistent. Hardware that flies has to be built the same way every time, and you take that seriously

You've built physical things — personal projects, robotics teams, Formula SAE, RC aircraft, drones, a workshop in your garage. Tell us about them

Willing to do the unglamorous work. Some days are assembly and testing, and those units still have to be perfect

Curious about why things fail and persistent enough to find out

Comfortable in ambiguity — processes here are still being written, and you'll help write them

Nice to have

You know how to fly. A private pilot certificate, student pilot time, or any flight training is a real bonus. Pilots understand the cockpit environment these devices live in, and we'll lean on you for more than device build — flight testing, data collection, ride‑alongs, and translating what actually happens in the aircraft back to the engineering team

Familiarity with aviation systems, avionics, or general aviation aircraft

CAD, 3D printing, or fabrication experience

Basic scripting for test automation or data validation

Why this role matters

Pilots trust their lives to the systems in front of them. The device you build is the first link in that chain — if it doesn't capture clean data, nothing downstream works. Interns here own real units going to real customers, not side projects.

What you'll get

Hardware that ships — your work flies in aircraft at flight schools, airlines, and the U.S. Air Force

Direct access to the founding team and every part of the stack, from hardware to AI

A path to a full-time role for interns who prove they can own the build

How we work

Find a way. We don't wait for permission or perfect information. Ideas come from anywhere regardless of title. Figure it out, ship it, iterate.

Creativity over control. First principles over process. We'd rather have a creative solution that's 80% right today than a perfect one next quarter.

Update fast. Come in with a hypothesis, throw it away when the data says otherwise. Ego has no place here.

Intensity with focus. We work hard because the mission demands it. Clarity on what matters is how we make that sustainable.