Optics & Sensor Eng Co-op: Inertial & Imaging Systems

Draper Labs; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 28,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

Draper, a nonprofit R&D leader in Cambridge, MA, seeks Physics/Engineering co-ops for six months (Jan–Jun 2027). You will contribute to electro-optical design, optical modeling, and hardware assembly across inertial guidance and imaging projects.

Applicants should be physics, materials science, or electrical engineering students with a 3.0+ GPA and hands-on experience; citizenship restrictions apply. LabVIEW, MATLAB, and Python skills are valuable for these roles.

Qualifications

• Physics, materials science, or electrical engineering student with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and hands-on experience required.
• Desirable: optical design, thermal control, electro-optic component test, circuit theory, machine shop interaction, technical assembly, Excel, LabVIEW, MATLAB, ACAD, Mentor Graphics, Python, GitLab.

Responsibilities

• Support research and development of precision inertial guidance and imaging instruments.
• Assist with optical/electronic modeling, optical system assembly, testing and debugging.

Skills

Lab skills

Optics basics

Education

Undergraduate student in Physics, Materials Science, or Electrical Engineering

Tools

LabVIEW

MATLAB

SolidWorks

COMSOL

ANSYS

Mentor Graphics

Python

GitLab

ACAD

Job description

Draper, a nonprofit R&D leader in Cambridge, MA, seeks Physics/Engineering co-ops for six months (Jan–Jun 2027). You will contribute to electro-optical design, optical modeling, and hardware assembly across inertial guidance and imaging projects.

Applicants should be physics, materials science, or electrical engineering students with a 3.0+ GPA and hands-on experience; citizenship restrictions apply. LabVIEW, MATLAB, and Python skills are valuable for these roles.