Reliability Test Intern (Winter 2027)

Astranis; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 33,000 - 47,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hands-on reliability testing

Space hardware internship experience

Onsite work five days a week

Job summary

Astranis offers a Reliability Test Intern position for Winter 2027, based in Northern California. Interns collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to plan and execute reliability tests on satellite hardware, gaining hands-on experience with thermal vacuum systems, vibration shakers, and data acquisition.

We seek students pursuing Mechanical, Electrical, or Aerospace Engineering who are eager to work in a fast-paced environment and contribute to ensuring hardware meets stringent

Qualifications

• Pursuing a degree in a technical field related to hardware reliability.
• Interest in hardware reliability, testing, and hands-on engineering in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks, prioritize effectively, and adapt to changing project needs.
• Strong communication skills are essential to collaborate with cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to plan reliability tests for satellite hardware.
• Support test plan and procedure development based on design specs and mission profiles.
• Set up, operate, and monitor environmental test equipment, including thermal chambers and vibration systems.
• Execute reliability tests such as thermal cycling, vacuum, and vibration.
• Collect, analyze, and document test data to identify failure modes and ensure reliability targets.
• Design test fixtures and data acquisition setups.

Skills

Strong communication

Multitasking

Adaptability

Team collaboration

Education

In progress: Mechanical, Electrical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Test equipment (environmental chambers)

DAQs (data acquisition systems)

Vibration shaker tables

Thermal vacuum systems

Job description

Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe – large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military.

With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts. Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization.

Astranis has raised over $1.2 billion from some of the world’s best investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Blackrock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Snowpoint, and employs a team of 500 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.

Reliability Test Intern (Winter 2027)

Internships at Astranis typically last for twelve weeks, and are hourly roles designed for students who are currently enrolled at a four-year university.

As an Intern, you will have an amazing opportunity to work on hard problems — we pride ourselves on giving everyone at Astranis a chance to do meaningful work on complex projects, no matter their seniority. Many past interns have designed and tested hardware/software that is heading to space on our first satellite, and many of them are now full-time employees at Astranis.

Role

• Collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to plan reliability tests for satellite hardware
• Support test plan and procedure development based on design specifications and mission profiles
• Set up, operate, and monitor environmental test equipment, including thermal chambers, thermal vacuum systems, vibration shaker tables, and combined thermal vibe chambers
• Execute reliability tests such as thermal cycling, thermal vacuum, and vibration
• Collect, analyze, and document test data to identify potential failure modes and ensure hardware meets reliability targets
• Design test fixtures, setup instrumentation and data acquisition systems

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical field
• Strong interest in hardware reliability, testing, and hands‑on engineering work in a fast‑paced environment
• Ability to manage multiple tasks, prioritize effectively, and adapt to changing project needs
• Strong communication skills
• Must be onsite 5 days per week

Bonus

• Hands‑on experience with environmental or reliability testing
• Familiarity with test equipment such as test chambers and DAQs
• Experience with data analysis tools in Python, MATLAB, or similar
• Exposure to hardware design, integration, or lab‑based engineering projects
• Understanding of failure analysis, root cause investigation, or reliability engineering principles
• Previous internship, research, or project experience in aerospace or hardware‑focused environments

The base pay for this position is $29.00 per hour.

Base Hourly Pay

$29 — $29 USD

U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required

(To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3))

Our mission and products are built for everyone, regardless of gender, race, creed, or background. We believe in a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we invite all people to join our team and bring their unique perspectives to make us stronger.