Aircraft Design Fellow (Summer 2027 Internship)

Location: In-office at nTop Headquarters in New York City, USA for the 12-week summer internship

Pay: $20 per hour for 40 hours per week

Company

hirify.global is supporting an nTop Aircraft Design Fellowship focused on advanced aircraft design, manufacturing, and engineering education.

What you will do

• Work in a three-person cross-functional engineering team to develop a novel unmanned aircraft system from mission requirements through first flight.
• Use nTop to define the aircraft configuration, airframe, and component structures, then analyze and optimize the design.
• Build, assemble, and flight-test the physical UAS prototype.
• Depending on the selected role, lead aircraft performance analysis, avionics and flight-control integration, or detailed airframe design and manufacturing.
• Document the project by creating an nTop learning course, marketing content, and a co-authored research paper.

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering, or an equivalent program.
• Configurator/Analysis Lead candidates must have strong knowledge of aircraft configuration design, trade studies, sizing, performance analysis, aerodynamics, CFD principles, stability and control, mass properties, balance calculations, and translating mission requirements into preliminary aircraft designs.
• Configurator/Analysis Lead candidates must be proficient with relevant analysis tools such as MATLAB/Simulink, XFLR5, or equivalent industry software.
• Avionics/Controls Lead candidates must have experience building and integrating mechatronic systems, specifying UAS components, programming microcontrollers or flight-management systems, and implementing control systems such as PID loops.
• Avionics/Controls Lead candidates must have hands-on experience with soldering, wiring harnesses, compact electrical layouts, and communication protocols including I2C, SPI, or CAN.
• Design/Manufacturing Lead candidates must have extensive proven experience with Design for Additive Manufacturing, including topology optimization, lattice generation, and part consolidation.
• Design/Manufacturing Lead candidates must be proficient in detailed mechanical design and engineering drawings, and understand polymers and composites used in airframe construction.
• Design/Manufacturing Lead candidates must have hands-on experience with additive manufacturing processes such as FDM, SLS, or SLA, post-processing, structural analysis, and designing components for specified load cases.
• Applicants must be able to work in-office in New York City for the entire internship.

Nice to have

• Familiarity with traditional manufacturing methods such as composite layup or machining.

Culture & Benefits

• 12-week summer 2027 fellowship with flexible specific dates.
• Hands-on, accelerated design sprint with end-to-end ownership of an aircraft project.
• Opportunity to produce a built and flown UAS prototype, a co-authored research publication, an nTop learning course, and professional marketing content.
• Work is conducted full-time in the New York City headquarters at 40 hours per week.

Hiring process

• Select the internship role that best matches your expertise: Configurator/Analysis Lead, Avionics/Controls Lead, or Design/Manufacturing Lead.
• Submit a resume and provide LinkedIn, contact, and location information.
• Confirm availability for in-office work in New York City and disclose whether employment visa sponsorship may be required.