Mission Dev Engineer - Internship (Summer 2027)

About Nominal Engineers today are building some of the most ambitious machines humanity has ever seen. They should have AI that’s purpose-built for them. Nominal is building the Hardware Intelligence Platform that gives engineers increased visibility into complex physical systems, helps them make better decisions, and ultimately gets their products into the real world faster. It brings together the systems, data, intelligence, and applications hardware engineering requires to meet the AI moment. Hardware engineering teams use Nominal to simulate, test, manufacture, and operate the physical systems that keep the world moving, from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation energy systems and robotics. Our customers span aerospace, defense, manufacturing, transportation, energy, and robotics. They include Anduril, Shield AI, Wisk Aero, Pratt Miller Motorsports, Antares, and Shinkei Systems, amongst others, alongside programs within the U.S. Air Force and Navy. Our team draws from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, Tesla, and other leading companies, united by a common mission: giving hardware engineers the tools to build the future with speed, safety, and confidence. We're a fast-moving team that owns problems end-to-end, works across disciplines, and thrives at the intersection of hardware and software. Some of the world’s leading technology investors, including Sequoia, Lightspeed, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, and Insight Partners, are backing Nominal’s ambition to change how machines are built and operated. We’re looking for engineers who want to take on hard problems and help make a new generation of world-changing hardware possible. 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 Mission Dev (forward deployed software engineering) intern at Nominal, you’ll work directly with engineers building and testing complex hardware systems like nuclear reactors, rockets, and supersonic aircraft. You’ll learn how our customers work, understand what’s slowing them down, and build software that helps them move faster. The role combines hands-on software engineering with product judgment: figuring out what to build, shipping it, and working with users to make sure it solves their problem. 🚀 What you’ll do Work directly with customer engineers to understand their testing and analysis workflows and identify problems you can solve with software Design and build integrations, data pipelines, and applications that connect Nominal to our customers’ systems and help them work with high-frequency, high-volume hardware data Own projects from understanding the problem through building, deploying, and supporting the solution, with mentorship from experienced engineers and domain experts Put working software in users’ hands early, learn from how they use it, and iterate quickly based on their feedback Bring what you learn back to our product and engineering teams, helping turn solutions for individual customers into capabilities that benefit many 🎯 Reach out if… You’re on track to graduate by Summer 2028 and are open to a full-time role afterward You have strong core engineering skills and hands-on experience building software, whether through internships, personal projects, or academic work You want to work directly with the people using your software and understand whether what you’ve built is making a difference You’re excited to work through open-ended problems, learn unfamiliar systems, and figure out what’s needed to get a solution into use You have a personal passion for solving challenging problems and contributing to the future of critical infrastructure 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 .