Pacific Defense Intern - Cedar Rapids

Welcome students/ soon-to-be graduates/ graduates! Thank you for your interest in Pacific Defense! Please find additional information about the company below.

Pacific Defense is designed to support the DoD’s disciplined movement to modular open standards and to mirror the way military services address electromagnetic spectrum warfare – holistic mission planning and execution. The company’s approach inherently enables what it refers to as a rapid prototyping paradigm – embedding a commercial mentality into the defense industry. Products are designed from the outset for modern, AI-driven autonomy and CMOSS and SOSA-aligned hardware and software solutions.

This includes state‑of‑the‑art processing that can readily follow the evolution of commercial technology with complete data sharing across networks and platforms. Headquartered in El Segundo, California, Pacific Defense takes an organic, commercial-minded approach to military‑use electromagnetic spectrum technologies and solutions. Focus areas include autonomous systems, command and control, communications, cyber operations, intelligence collection, and electronic warfare. Pacific Defense takes an innovative approach to developing military‑use advanced solutions delivering EW, SIGINT, Comms and C2 capabilities to the DoD.

This includes state‑of‑the‑art processing that can readily follow the evolution of commercial technology with complete data sharing across networks and platforms.

This internship position is in our Cedar Rapids office, focused on development of Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) equipment as it applies to our CMOSS and SOSA-aligned systems.

• Support engineering teams with research, testing, and analysis related to PNT technologies
• Assist with data collection, simulation, and performance evaluation of navigation systems
• Help document test results, technical findings, and system behavior
• Collaborate with engineers across software, hardware, systems, and integration teams
• Support lab testing, troubleshooting, and prototype development as needed

• Currently pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field
• Interest in GPS/GNSS, inertial navigation, RF systems, sensors, signal processing, or embedded systems
• Basic programming experience in Python, MATLAB, C/C++, or similar
• Strong problem‑solving skills and willingness to learn
• Ability to work collaboratively in a technical team environment

• Coursework or project experience related to navigation, controls, robotics, aerospace systems, or defense technologies
• Experience with lab equipment, data analysis, simulations, or hardware/software integration

• This role is ideal for a student who wants hands‑on exposure to advanced PNT systems and real‑world engineering challenges in a mission‑focused environment.

Pacific Defense provides competitive salaries and immediately vested 401K match. We offer paid time off and federal holidays to spend time with family, pursue outside interests, or just get some extra rest.

Pacific Defense is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected factor.