Summer 2027 Internship - Mechanical Engineering

Socket.dev; California (MO); On-site; USD 41,000 - 55,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Housing stipend

Job summary

General Matter is seeking a Mechanical Engineering Intern to gain hands-on experience in designing, building, and testing mechanisms for enrichment technology. You will work with experienced engineers across electrical, software, chemical, manufacturing, nuclear, materials, and physics disciplines to solve challenging problems and move hardware from concept through build and test.

This role offers exposure to CAD design, prototyping, testing, and cross-functional engineering, with an emphasis on

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with mechanical design, prototyping, or analysis of structural or mechanism components.
• Familiarity with CAD tools (NX, SolidWorks, or similar) and exposure to Python or MATLAB.

Responsibilities

• Design mechanisms and mechanical structures for testing and enrichment across the product lifecycle.
• Optimize designs for cost, performance, and manufacturability.
• Assist with testing hardware including thermal, vibration, shock, and durability tests.
• Perform root-cause analysis on test failures and implement hardware mitigations.
• Collaborate with electrical, software, manufacturing, and nuclear engineers to ensure integrated designs.

Skills

Mechanical design

Prototyping

Engineering analysis

Python or MATLAB exposure

Collaborative teamwork

Education

Mechanical Engineering

Aerospace Engineering

Tools

NX/ SolidWorks

FEA

Job description

About the company

General Matter enriches uranium.

We are designing, building, and operating the world’s lowest-cost enrichment services, here in the US.

In the process, we are restoring America’s ability to produce nuclear fuel to power AI, advanced manufacturing and critical industries our country relies on to remain competitive.

Fuel drives the cost of advanced reactor electricity production, and enrichment drives the cost of the fuel that advanced reactors consume. Reliable, low-cost enrichment is the catalyst for the nuclear Renaissance now under way.

Our mission is to make nuclear not only the cleanest and safest source of baseload power, but also the most affordable. We believe abundant nuclear energy will lead to a post-scarcity society.

We were incubated inside Founders Fund, like Anduril and Palantir before us, and are backed by over a dozen of the world's top venture capital firms.

Our lean, world-class team of engineers and operators is applying a first-principles approach to solving the problem of nuclear fuel production.

We are a mission-driven company with a culture of urgency, accountability, and transparency.

Help us build a high-energy society by making the cleanest, safest form of baseload energy the most affordable.

About This Role

As a General Matter Mechanical Engineering Intern, you will gain hands‑on experience designing, building, and testing the mechanisms and mechanical structures that enable our enrichment technology. You’ll work alongside experienced engineers and scientists across electrical, software, chemical, manufacturing, nuclear, materials, and physics disciplines to solve challenging technical problems and bring hardware from concept through build and test. This is an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to real engineering projects while developing practical skills in mechanical design, prototyping, testing, and cross‑functional engineering.

Responsibilities

• Support the design of mechanisms and mechanical structures for testing and/or enrichment. You will experience the entire product lifecycle including requirements definition, design, development, qualification, and release to production.
• Support optimization of designs for cost, performance, and manufacturability.
• Contribute to testing hardware through thermal, vibe, shock, durability, etc.
• Perform root‑cause analysis on test failures and develop hardware mitigations.
• Work closely with electrical, software, manufacturing, and nuclear engineers to ensure designs are effectively integrated with overall system requirements.

Basic Qualifications

• Current undergraduate or graduate student pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline
• Hands‑on experience with mechanical design, prototyping, or analysis of structural or mechanism components
• Familiarity with CAD tools (NX, SolidWorks, or similar) and exposure to FEA or engineering coding languages like Python or MATLAB
• Collaborative team member who thrives in fast‑paced, multidisciplinary environments and is eager to learn
• Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary.

Equal Opportunity Employer

General Matter is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with General Matter is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Compensation and Benefits

The hourly pay range for this internship is $30–$40 per hour, depending on the candidate’s current standing in school (i.e. sophomore, senior). Interns will receive a monthly housing stipend, and are eligible for overtime pay. Please note that the stated hourly range is an estimate and may be adjusted based on market conditions, business needs, or other factors.