Spacecraft Thermal Engineering Intern

Varda Space Industries; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 41,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Housing stipend

Commuter benefit

Hourly rate $33

Job summary

Varda Space Industries offers an on-site Spring internship in Los Angeles, CA, focused on vehicle thermal analysis. You will work within the Thermal team to develop temperature predictions, run tests, and create data-processing tools.

This role emphasizes hands-on design, testing, and collaboration with aerospace professionals in a startup environment. Applicants must be enrolled in Mechanical or Aerospace engineering programs, with coursework in heat transfer, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics,

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related Engineering discipline
• Completed coursework in: Heat Transfer; Thermodynamics; Fluid Mechanics; Data processing
• Experience or coursework using thermal analysis software (e.g., Thermal Desktop, Ansys, Star CCM)
• Proficiency in CAD tools (NX, AutoCAD, PTC, or similar)
• Comfortable with data analysis in MATLAB and Python
• Prior thermal internship, lab, project team, or rigorous school project experience relevant to heat transfer/thermal

Responsibilities

• Support thermal vacuum (TVAC) test campaigns including setup, execution, and data collection
• Contribute to thermal models for spacecraft components and systems using tools like Thermal Desktop and ANSYS
• Analyze flight and ground test thermal data using Python and MATLAB
• Design, procure, test, and validate thermal hardware (e.g., MLI blankets, heat straps, thermal interfaces)
• Support integration and test (I&T) activities related to thermal components and subsystems
• Collaborate with systems and mechanical teams to ensure thermal requirements are met

Skills

Thermal analysis software

MATLAB

Python

Heat transfer

Thermodynamics

Fluid mechanics

CAD tools

Data processing

Internship/ Lab/ Projects

Leadership

Education

Mechanical, Aerospace, or related Engineering

Tools

Thermal Desktop

Ansys

Star CCM

NX

AutoCAD

PTC

Job description

Varda Space Industries offers an on-site Spring internship in Los Angeles, CA, focused on vehicle thermal analysis. You will work within the Thermal team to develop temperature predictions, run tests, and create data-processing tools.

This role emphasizes hands-on design, testing, and collaboration with aerospace professionals in a startup environment. Applicants must be enrolled in Mechanical or Aerospace engineering programs, with coursework in heat transfer, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics,