Propulsion Engineering Internship - Fall 2026

The propulsion team is responsible for fluid systems on the vehicle required to complete spacecraft orbital maneuvers and earth reentry. This includes thrusters for primary maneuvers and attitude control, propellant tanks, and all associated plumbing and fluid components on the spacecraft. This system is completely designed, analyzed, fabricated, and tested in house which enables successful candidates exposure across all aspects of the design and manufacturing lifecycle of a space vehicle system.

Internships at Varda are optimal for students looking to grow technically and professionally while working on impactful projects critical to the company’s success. You will be working on a collaborative team in a startup environment while being able to learn from some of most accomplished and experienced aerospace professionals in the world. We’re dedicated to providing an experience that will let your decisions and contributions help drive Varda’s success. 

• →Own or contribute to hardware or software design to support development of Spacecraft or payload 
• →Create or support test campaigns and build test stands 
• →Perform necessary analysis to support development and testing 

• Must have completed some Engineering coursework relevant to Propulsion, including but not limited to:
  • At least one of:
    • Fluid Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics
    • Heat Transfer
    • Compressible Flow
    • Combustion
• Pursuing a bachelor's or master’s degree from an accredited college or university in Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineer, or Electrical Engineering (or similar engineering degrees)
• Familiarity with engineering design software and principles (NX/Teamcenter, GD&T, Matlab/Python, and analysis packages)
• Strong fundamentals in fluids engineering 
• Prior hands-on experience building or testing fluid systems 
• Familiarity with safe operation of combustion devices, rocket propellants, and pressurized systems
• Familiarity or exposure to high precision manufacturing environments

• Previous internship or co-op experience 
• Previous experience on technical project teams (i.e. Rocket club, formula SAE, etc.) 
• Completion of a Propulsion or Rocket Propulsion survey course

Intern projects will be tailored to company needs and student skillsets closer to the start date. Typical projects include:

• Hotfire test facility propellant system design
• Component test bench design
• Automated data reduction software
• Valve qualification test program development and execution
• Bus Ground Fluids Equipment design

• Varda, like all employers, must ensure that its employees working in the United States are lawfully authorized to work in the U.S.  Additionally, our employees are exposed to and have access to certain export-controlled items. At present, some of our technology to which employees have access requires a license to be exported to individuals other than “U.S. Persons” as defined in U.S. export regulations. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items, our current policy is to only hire “U.S. persons” who are permitted to have access to our technology without an export license. 

  “US person” means: U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e., individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum in the U.S.)

   Learn more about the ITAR here.  

Varda Space Industries, Inc. participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program. The E-Verify program is an Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn more about the E-Verify program.

E-Verify Notice                                                               Right To Work Notice

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