Propulsion Component Engineering Intern (Aerospace)

Location: Los Angeles, CA, United States; on-site

Salary: $25–$33 per hour. Final compensation depends on degree level.

Company

hirify.global is a venture-backed defense aviation company developing high-speed aircraft through rapid hardware prototyping and iteration.

What you will do

• Develop propulsion components such as valves, actuators, and fluid control hardware from concept through flight-ready delivery.
• Support clean-sheet design, analysis, sizing, architecture, integration, qualification, and acceptance testing.
• Perform trade studies covering performance, manufacturability, reliability, and testability.
• Contribute to rapid build–test–iterate cycles for hardware operating in high-pressure and high-temperature environments.
• Participate in troubleshooting and root cause analysis during development and testing.
• Work with propulsion and vehicle system owners on requirements, interfaces, integration strategies, operational limits, reliability, and safety.

Requirements

• Currently enrolled in a STEM program at an accredited college or university as a third- or fourth-year undergraduate, master's, or Ph.D. student.
• Practical experience designing, building, and testing hardware or vehicles through internships, coursework, research, or hands-on projects.
• Understanding of engineering first principles, including fluids, thermodynamics, mechanics, and materials.
• Ability to work in cross-functional teams with strong written and verbal communication skills.
• GPA of 3.0 or above and willingness to work hands-on in build, integration, and test environments.
• Must be eligible to access U.S. export-controlled information, either as a U.S. person or through deemed export licensing eligibility.

Nice to have

• Experience with propulsion systems, high-pressure fluid systems, aerospace mechanisms, valves, actuators, or fluid control hardware.
• Knowledge of high-temperature materials, sealing strategies, mechanical failure modes, GD&T, tolerance stack-up, and precision assemblies.
• Experience with hardware testing, assembly, integration, troubleshooting, rapid hardware development, CAD tools such as NX, or analysis tools such as ANSYS.
• Scripting experience with Python, MATLAB, or similar tools for analysis or automation.

Culture & Benefits

• Spring internship duration is approximately 16 weeks, from January through April.
• Ability to support extended hours during critical test campaigns and travel for hardware builds and flight tests.
• Interns receive 5 days of sick leave and unpaid time off.
• Weekly paid office lunches and fully stocked breakrooms.