Role Overview:
As an Avionics Integration & Test Engineering Intern, you will gain hands-on experience supporting the integration, verification, and validation of avionics hardware and software systems for customer-facing projects. In this role, you will contribute across the full test lifecycle: building and configuring test racks and hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) setups, to executing test campaigns, documenting results, and writing automation to improve test infrastructure. Whether you're wiring up a new test bench, debugging an interface failure, or writing a test procedure from scratch, you'll be making real contributions to complex avionics systems. This internship is designed to accelerate your technical growth, giving you the chance to build a strong foundation in systems integration and test engineering while making an immediate impact.
What You Will Do:
- Ownership: Take ownership of test tasks for avionics systems across a range of customer programs
- Technical Mentorship: Work closely with a dedicated mentor who will provide technical guidance, assign projects, and support your development throughout the internship
- Test Rack Setup & Integration: Build, configure, and maintain avionics test racks and benches, including hardware setup, cable routing, and interface verification
- HITL Support: Support hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) test environments by integrating real avionics hardware with simulation infrastructure and verifying end-to-end signal flow
- Test Execution & Documentation: Write, review, and execute test procedures for functional, environmental, and interface testing; document results clearly and flag anomalies for engineering review
- Data Acquisition: Operate data acquisition systems and test equipment (oscilloscopes, DMMs, power supplies, thermal chambers, etc.) to capture and analyze test data
What You Will Need:
- Current enrollment in college (Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or related field)
- Programming experience with Python or another object-oriented language, including writing maintainable, readable code for test or instrumentation applications
- Basic knowledge of electrical circuits, signals, and electronics fundamentals
- Familiarity with avionics interfaces or communication protocols (e.g., UART, SPI, I2C, CAN, MIL-STD-1553, or similar)
- Strong attention to detail when handling flight hardware, test equipment, and technical documentation
- Curiosity and drive to learn in a fast-paced, hardware-forward environment; comfort taking instruction and asking questions
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to document test results, write clear procedures, and communicate findings to engineers
What Would Be Useful:
- Experience in a team-based design and build project (e.g., CubeSat, Formula SAE, Rover Challenge, rocketry, or similar)
- Familiarity with aerospace environmental testing, including thermal cycling, vibration, shock, thermal vacuum (TVAC), and EMI/EMC
- Experience with automated test systems, data logging software, or lab instruments controlled via Python
- Exposure to hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) or software-in-the-loop (SITL) test architectures
- Familiarity with avionics standards or DO-178C/DO-254 test concepts
- Experience with Linux operating systems and command-line environments
- Exposure to version control systems (e.g., Git) for managing test scripts and documentation
- Understanding of signal integrity concepts or experience using lab equipment such as oscilloscopes and logic analyzers to debug hardware interfaces
Benefits:
- Salary: $70,400 annual salary, prorated for length of internship
- Flexible work hours and work from home policy
- 100% employer-paid health insurance (Medical, Dental, Vision) for employees + 50% dependent coverage
- Accrued paid time off policy, accrued sick days policy, and paid company holidays
- 401(k) retirement account and employer matching (Safe Harbor 4%)
- Housing stipend bonus
- Electric Vehicle (EV) charging ports
- Catered lunches, snacks, and accessible kitchen
Our Values in Practice:
SOE’s four core values are the standard by which we operate. As an engineering intern, you are expected to embody them in every design decision, debugging session, and team interaction:
- Lead with Curiosity: Approach every system with a desire to understand not just how it works, but why it was designed that way. Ask questions early and often of your mentor, your teammates, and yourself. The best engineers are the ones who never stop learning.
- Own the Outcome: Take genuine ownership of your work, from first prototype through final validation. Communicate blockers early, document your work thoroughly, and follow through on what you commit to.
- Build the Right Thing: Understand the customer need behind each technical requirement and make design decisions that are practical, reliable, and built to last. Good engineering solves the real problem, not just the interesting one.
- Empower Others: Contribute to a team culture where knowledge is shared freely. Ask for feedback, act on it, and share what you learn with those around you. Your curiosity and fresh perspectives will make the whole team better.
About SOE:
SOE is an engineering consulting firm that specializes in electrical, electromechanical, and embedded systems. Founded in 2016, we’ve grown from a 3-person operation to a team of 25+ engineers across offices in El Segundo, CA and Redmond, WA. In that time, we’ve completed over 250 projects for more than 100 clients. Our designs control rocket engines, manage satellite communications, instrument fusion reactors, and are enjoyed by consumers around the world. The only thing we won’t build are weapons.
We’re 100% employee-owned, which means that every engineer at SOE has a real stake in what we build. We structured the company this way because we believe the people best equipped to advance our mission are the ones doing the work.
We approach problems from first principles. We break challenges down to their most fundamental components, which is how we find solutions that hold up across industries, use cases, and engineering functions. We focus on solving the right problems and building the teams to take them on.
Additional Requirements:
- Applicants must be able to commit to a 12-to-16 week internship over the summer
- Applicant must be willing to work 40 hours a week on-site in El Segundo, California, USA
- Applicant must be eligible to work on export controlled projects
- Job Type: Full-time (Salary)
Export Control Requirements:
- To conform with U.S. Government export control regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide sponsorship at this time.
If you don’t meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply!
Second Order Effects is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SOE is governed on the basis of excellence and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.
