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Nominal builds software that lets hardware teams test, iterate, and deploy as fast as software teams.
The Role
Software engineering interns will build features for high-frequency, high-volume hardware data infrastructure, collaborate directly with customers, own projects from start to finish, and support product growth at an early-stage company. The role involves working with engineers and domain experts on testing and validating complex systems, including spacecraft, autonomous vehicles, reactors, rockets, and aircraft.
Summary Generated by Built In
About Nominal
Nominal is building the connected test and operations platform powering the world's most advanced hardware systems, from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation defense programs. Our platform gives hardware engineering teams a single place to ingest data, analyze performance, automate test execution, and collaborate across every phase of development, so they can move faster without sacrificing safety or precision. We're a fast-moving team that owns problems end-to-end, works across disciplines, and thrives at the intersection of hardware and software.
We serve top-tier commercial and defense customers, from autonomy leaders like Anduril and Shield AI to next-generation aerospace teams like Hermeus and REGENT, and performance engineering teams like Pratt Miller Motorsports, alongside mission partners within the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force on programs where failure isn’t an option. We’re backed by Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Lightspeed. Our team draws from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, and other leading companies, united by a common mission: giving hardware engineers the tools to build the future with speed, safety, and confidence.
The role
We’re looking for students with solid engineering fundamentals interested in a Summer 2027 internship and on track to graduate in Summer 2028 or sooner.
As a software engineering intern at Nominal, you’ll have an unparalleled opportunity to work closely with world-class engineers solving high-impact problems. As part of an early-stage company, you’ll help us grow, launch new products, and take on exciting challenges. You’ll have a front-row seat as our customers test and validate complex hardware systems like nuclear reactors, rockets, and supersonic aircraft.
🚀 What you’ll do
- Dive deep into cutting-edge data infrastructure, focusing on high-frequency, high-volume multi-modal hardware data
- Design and build new features in close collaboration with our customers, often working directly with our users in the field
- Quickly take ownership of projects from start to finish, while receiving mentorship from our world-class engineers and domain experts
- Take the driver’s seat at an early-stage company, helping Nominal grow, onboarding new customers, and expanding its product offerings, while contributing to our mission of accelerating the testing and validation landscape for complex hardware systems
🎯 Reach out if…
- You are targeting a 12-week internship in Summer 2026, full-time work starting in 2027
- You have a personal passion for solving challenging problems and contributing to the future of critical infrastructure
- You have exceptional hands-on experience and strong core engineering skills — whether through internships, personal projects, or academic work
- Your peers would describe you as ambitious, resourceful, and perseverant
✨ Benefits/Perks
- Receive mentorship from our world-class team
- Trips to co-locate with the team across our different offices
- Free lunch, dinner, snacks, and drinks
- A beginning-of-internship swag bag and an end-of-internship intern gift
- In-office hardware lab with a $250 project stipend
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
ITAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
Skills Required
- Currently a student targeting a 12-week Summer 2027 internship and graduating in Summer 2028 or sooner
- Solid engineering fundamentals and strong core engineering skills
- Exceptional hands-on experience through internships, personal projects, or academic work
- Passion for solving challenging problems and contributing to critical infrastructure
- Ambitious, resourceful, and perseverant
- U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee, or eligible to obtain required ITAR authorizations
Nominal Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Nominal and has not been reviewed or approved by Nominal.
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Healthcare Strength — 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage is repeatedly described as covering both employees and dependents, indicating unusually strong healthcare provisioning. Additional mentions of “Platinum” coverage reinforce the sense of a high-tier plan offering.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Unlimited PTO and paid holidays/sick time are presented as part of the core package, suggesting broad time-off benefits on paper. Parental leave is also framed as fully paid in several places, reinforcing overall leave breadth.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Wellness stipends, daily gourmet lunch (and sometimes dinner), and periodic retreats are consistently highlighted as meaningful lifestyle perks. Learning/development and other small stipends further round out a perks-heavy total rewards posture.
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The Company
What We Do
Nominal builds the essential software stack that enables hardware teams to test and iterate as rapidly as software teams. Nominal empowers engineers to continuously monitor, validate, and deploy innovations, transforming how mission-critical hardware is built and operated.
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