Mechanical Engineering Intern ​/ Co-op, Rocket Motors - Fall 2026

Mechanical Engineering Intern / Co-op, Rocket Motors - Fall 2026

Who We Are

GITAI is a vertically integrated space and defense company building the next generation of hardware for low-Earth-orbit missions.

At our core is the space robotics technology that has defined GITAI from the beginning. A small, highly capable engineering team applies that foundation across satellite buses, in-orbit servicing robotics, and mission hardware for applications such as Earth observation. Today, a major focus of our work is supporting U.S. national security missions, particularly through proliferated LEO satellite constellations and other next-generation space systems.

We design, build, integrate, and test much of our hardware in-house. Electrical, mechanical, software, manufacturing, integration, and test teams work closely together, allowing a small team to own complete systems rather than isolated components. This vertical integration helps us move quickly, learn directly from hardware, and shorten the path from architecture to a working system.

We are still early. The systems, the company, and the market are all being built at the same time. Requirements change, technical problems are often ambiguous, and many answers do not yet exist. We are looking for exceptional engineers who want broad ownership, can work across disciplines, and are willing to stay close to the hardware until the mission succeeds.

Your Mission

As a Mechanical Engineering Intern / Co-op at GITAI, you will join the team developing hardware for our Space-Based Interceptor program. Depending on program needs, you may work on satellite bus components, rocket motor hardware, mechanical interfaces, prototypes, ground support equipment, or test fixtures.

You will take a defined piece of hardware from an early concept into the real world. This may include creating CAD and drawings, working through manufacturing issues with technicians or suppliers, supporting assembly and inspection, preparing and running tests, and updating the design based on the results. The work moves quickly, and you may shift between your desk, the shop floor, suppliers, and test sites.

You will not be given a polished training plan or a neatly packaged assignment. The problems are real, priorities move, and the engineer guiding you may be hard to reach because they are also working against demanding program schedules. Even so, you will be trusted with a real part of the work. We expect you to take ownership, ask for help before you get stuck, find the people and information you need, accept direct feedback, and keep moving when the path is unclear.

What You’ll Drive

• Own clearly scoped mechanical hardware through design, manufacturing, assembly, testing, troubleshooting, and iteration.
• Design and update mechanical components, assemblies, interfaces, prototypes, ground support equipment, and test fixtures using 3D CAD and engineering drawings.
• Work directly with engineers, technicians, machinists, suppliers, and test personnel to turn incomplete requirements and early concepts into hardware that can be built and tested.
• Support hands-on fabrication, assembly, inspection, integration, and test activities, including hardware setup, instrumentation, data collection, teardown, and post-test inspection.
• Investigate manufacturing problems, integration issues, and test failures, then quickly apply what you learn to the next hardware iteration.
• Document hardware configurations, design decisions, build issues, test results, and lessons learned, and support field tests outside the Torrance office when required.

What We’re Looking For

We do not expect interns to arrive as finished engineers. We expect you to have built enough real hardware to know that engineering is rarely clean, and to have the drive to keep learning when the first design does not work.

You should have:

• Current enrollment in a bachelor’s or master’s degree program in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, or a related field.
• At least one year of sustained participation in a technically rigorous student engineering project, such as Formula SAE, rocketry, Cube Sat, robotics, Baja SAE, or…