The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation's space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space- delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you'll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space.
At Aerospace, we are committed to providing an inclusive and diverse workplace for all employees to share in our common passion and aspiration - to carry out a mission much bigger than ourselves.
Job Summary
The Enterprise Effects Division (EED) drives integration of Aerospace's strategic capabilities across the national space enterprise. The division leverages a broad array of engineering disciplines against a diverse and dynamic portfolio of programs, customers, and national challenges. EED spans the capability lifecycle from concept and architecture design to performance assessment to application of space and space-enabled capabilities.
As an intern with the Surveillance and Navigation Architecture Performance Department, you will directly contribute to technical capabilities that support our customers through modeling, simulation, and analysis (MS&A) to perform requirements verification, analyses-of-alternatives (AoA), and performance evaluation for space-based remote sensing architectures. Our interns work as part of a team on multiple projects with project mentors, full time staff, and other interns to apply existing skills and expand their MS&A knowledge. We support a variety of customers with diverse program portfolios, and we are looking for curious and innovative teammates to help us address our customers' hardest problems!
Work Model:
This 100% onsite position can be filled in either of our El Segundo, CA, Chantilly, VA, or Colorado Springs, CO offices.
What You'll Be Doing
- Gaining knowledge and experience in one of these specific national security space or intelligence mission areas: geo-spatial intelligence, signals intelligence, space surveillance, navigation systems, space protection, and/or communications infrastructure supporting defense or intelligence capabilities.
- Provide analysis to support recommendations for research, development, and acquisition decisions of legacy and emerging customer space-based sensing architectures.
- Perform architecture evaluation modeling overall performance using in-house or custom-developed analysis tools.
- Work closely with staff, management, and a team to translate customer needs into project objectives and provide technical evaluations.
- Develop and present timely and technically-accurate presentations and reports that clearly communicate analysis results and provide recommended solutions to technical leads, management, and customers.
- Aid in sustainment, development, and growth of the organization's analysis and simulation capabilities to support functional areas for our diverse customer base.
What You Need to be Successful
Minimum Requirements:
- Currently accepted to or enrolled fulltime in an accredited college/university program pursuing a MS or PhD degree in aerospace engineering, physics, operations research, mathematics or related discipline
- Availability to work full-time for a minimum of 10 weeks outside of university term and ability to return to a degree program full-time after completion of the internship.
- Min 3.0 GPA
- Familiarity with astrodynamics or space operations.
- A history that shows personal accountability, a desire to learn, and an ability to manage several simultaneous tasks.
- The ability to interact and work with a diverse team in different locations.
- Familiarity with one or more software languages that may include Python, C++, or MATLAB.
- This position requires ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance, which is issued by the US government. U.S citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.
- Transcripts required for this position
How You Can Stand Out
It would be impressive if you have one or more of these:
- Previous experience in one or more of the functional/mission areas listed above.
- Academic background in systems engineering, modeling & simulation, or space-based remote sensing architectures.
- Experience developing and presenting analysis results.
- Proficiency in orbital mechanics or space operations.
- Current TS/SCI access with a polygraph.
Temporary housing assistance is not available.
The Aerospace Corporation is a proud member of Space Workforce 2030, a growing coalition of leading space companies committed to collaboratively working toward a shared vision of expanding and diversifying opportunities for talent to join the exciting space industry. As part of this commitment, the Space Workforce 2030 companies have pledged to increase the number of females, diverse employees, and interns with a goal to hire at least 3,000 interns by the summer of 2030. Click here to learn more and register for the National Space Intern program.
We offer a competitive compensation package where you'll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to our business. The grade-based pay range for this job is listed below. Individual salaries within that range are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge and skills.
(Min - Max)
$32.00 - $48.00
Pay Basis: Hourly
Leadership Competencies
Our leadership philosophy is simple: every employee, regardless of level and role, can demonstrate leadership. At Aerospace, our commitment is our people. To cultivate our talent and ensure that we have a strong pipeline of future leaders, we want individuals who:
- Operate Strategically
- Lead Change
- Engage with Impact
- Foster Innovation
- Deliver Results
Ways We Reward Our Employees
During your interview process, our team will provide details of our industry-leading benefits.
Benefits vary and are applicable based on Job Type. A few highlights include:
- Comprehensive health care and wellness plans
- Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation
- Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options
- 401(k) Plan - Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire
- Flexible spending accounts
- Variable pay program for exceptional contributions
- Relocation assistance
- Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career
- Education assistance programs
- An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect
We are all unique, from diverse backgrounds and all walks of life, yet one thing bonds all of us to each other-the belief that we can make a difference. This core belief empowers us to do our best work at The Aerospace Corporation.
Equal Opportunity Commitment
The Aerospace Corporation is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. We believe that a diverse workforce creates an environment in which unique ideas are developed and differing perspectives are valued, producing superior customer solutions. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, color, religion, genetic information, marital status, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, or disability status and any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. If you're an individual with a disability or a disabled veteran who needs assistance using our online job search and application tools or need reasonable accommodation to complete the job application process, please contact us by phone at 310.336.5432 or by email at [email protected]. You can also review Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal, as well as the Pay Transparency Policy Statement.
Top Skills
What the Team is Saying
What We Do
The space enterprise has been transformed by rapid change and growth. New vehicles for national security space, a more rapid launch cadence, proliferated satellite constellations, the pursuit of interplanetary exploration, and thriving commercial ventures are changing the nature of the space industry. The Aerospace Corporation (Aerospace) is a leading architect for U.S. space programs, shaping efforts to outpace threats to our national security while cultivating the technologies needed to further this new era of space commercialization and exploration.
Aerospace works across the space enterprise in service of the public interest. In addition to supporting the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community, our customers include NASA, NOAA, numerous federal agencies, and commercial space — all of whom benefit from our deep technical knowledge. We only pursue business related to the space mission and complementary fields, operating as the nation’s trusted partner to solve the toughest challenges and develop reliable and innovative technologies.
Innovation in space occurs when people have the freedom to imagine and do. At Aerospace, we take pride in our readiness to solve some of the most complex challenges in the space enterprise.
Why Work With Us
We are a non-profit corporation chartered by the government to work on the hardest problems in space. We employ technical experts in every discipline of space-related science and engineering who touch every part of the US space program. Come join us as we make an impact bigger than ourselves.
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Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
