Mill is a waste prevention technology company reimagining what it means to eliminate waste, starting with food. We build smart systems and infrastructure for homes, businesses, and municipalities that transform food scraps from landfill-bound waste into valuable resources, including chicken feed. Tens of thousands of Mill’s residential food recyclers are already helping households divert millions of pounds of food scraps every year, paving the way for our upcoming launch of Mill Commercial—the industry’s first end-to-end solution for managing, understanding, and preventing food waste in commercial environments (e.g. grocery, restaurants, food services). At Mill, we are passionate about building easy-to-use, beautifully designed technologies that keep food in the food system and out of landfills.
As a Hardware Systems Engineering intern at Mill, you’ll be working with a tight-knit, fast-paced team on a novel consumer product. Your day-to-day will include hands-on work with hardware components and lab equipment as well as CAD design tools. Since we’re a small team, your work and learning will span Building, Testing, and Analysis as we push towards launch. This internship is for someone who wants to learn and be creatively challenged.
Responsibilities
- Work closely with the Mill cross functional team on the system design and validation of new products.
- Building test setups and exploring new ways to control our system
- Support system engineering testing activities by working with firmware, and product designers to troubleshoot and drive system level performance.
- Develop prototypes and execute tests in order to drive design towards mass production maturity.
Minimum Qualifications
- BS, MS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering (obtained or in progress)
- Working knowledge of manufacturing processes and material selection for the design and development of electro-mechanical systems.
- Proficient in 3D CAD (prefer Nx).
- Proficient in a variety of rapid prototyping methods.
- Strong analytical and communication skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with simulation tools (FEA and thermal) and statistical analysis methods.
- Experience with designing for high volume manufacturing (DFM/DFA).
The estimated base hourly range for this position is $35 to $45, which does not include the value of benefits or a potential equity grant. A wide range of factors are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to skill sets, market conditions, experience and training, licensure and certifications, and business and organizational needs. Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor an employment visa for this role
Skills Required
- BS, MS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering
- Working knowledge of manufacturing processes and material selection
- Proficient in 3D CAD
- Strong analytical and communication skills
Mill Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Mill and has not been reviewed or approved by Mill.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is positioned as competitive for several senior technical and business roles, supported by multiple six‑figure base ranges in recent postings. Total compensation snapshots commonly cluster in the mid‑ to high‑$100Ks for individual‑contributor roles, reinforcing a generally market-competitive posture for the Bay Area.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off coverage appears broad, including paid holidays, paid sick days, flexible time off, and an unlimited vacation policy, with some company-wide time off. The overall setup signals strong flexibility for managing personal time, though day-to-day use may depend on team norms.
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Healthcare Strength — Core health coverage is described as comprehensive, including medical, dental, and vision, alongside wellness programs and an FSA. The package breadth suggests a solid baseline consistent with tech-startup standards.
Mill Insights
What We Do
We’re on a mission to eliminate waste for good, starting with the food that ends up in landfills. Did you know that more than half of the food in landfills comes from home kitchens (ReFED)? And food in landfills turns into methane – which is 80x more potent than CO2 over a 20-year period (IPCC). At Mill, we’re working to turn kitchen scraps into food for chickens. This keeps food in our food system and out of landfills.
Why Work With Us
Food isn't trash. Mill keeps it from stinking up your kitchen – and the planet.
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