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Vehicle Software Engineer - Summer Internship 2027

Playa Vista, California, United States

Advanced Reentry Technologies

Who We Are:

Inversion is an aerospace and defense company pioneering advanced reentry technology to enable next-generation capabilities from space. By combining high-performance materials, precision aerodynamics, and mission-driven autonomy, Inversion is transforming reentry into an operational capability for an entirely new class of missions.

The company’s highly maneuverable reentry spacecraft, Arc, is designed for rapid global cargo delivery, hypersonic testing, and other national security missions that require precise, controlled flight through the atmosphere. Arc creates an entirely new transportation domain, unlocking unprecedented speed and global reach.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Inversion designs, manufactures, and integrates its spacecraft under one roof, enabling the company to move rapidly from concept to flight. The company is backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, with customers across the U.S. government and commercial space industry.

Position Overview:

As a Vehicle Software Engineering Intern at Inversion, you will help develop the software systems that enable our next-generation reentry vehicles to operate reliably, both in space and on the ground. You will work alongside experienced flight and ground software engineers to build, test, and deploy software that directly supports spacecraft development, qualification, and mission operations.

Unlike traditional internships focused on smaller assignments, you will take ownership of a meaningful engineering project, driving it from initial requirements and design through implementation, testing, and delivery. Your work could involve flight software, ground systems, hardware integration, or automated testing infrastructure, depending on team priorities and your interests.

This is a hands-on opportunity for students passionate about software engineering, embedded systems, robotics, or aerospace to build production-quality software that will continue to be used long after their internship ends.

Key Responsibilities

  • Own a well-scoped software engineering project from requirements definition and technical design through implementation, validation, and deployment.
  • Design, develop, and test software that supports spacecraft flight systems, ground operations, or engineering test infrastructure.
  • Develop and integrate software with physical hardware, simulation environments, or existing flight and ground software systems.
  • Write automated tests and contribute to software verification using unit testing, software-in-the-loop (SIL), hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), or processor-in-the-loop (PIL) environments.
  • Collaborate with flight software, avionics, simulation, and other engineering teams to solve challenging technical problems.
  • Participate in software design reviews, code reviews, debugging, and integration testing.
  • Document technical designs, test results, and software functionality, and present your completed project to the engineering team.

Required Qualifications

  • Currently pursuing a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
  • Demonstrated software development experience through personal projects, engineering teams, research, open-source contributions, or previous internships.
  • Experience programming in at least one language such as C, C++, Rust, or Python.
  • Strong understanding of fundamental software engineering concepts, including debugging, testing, data structures, and software design.
  • Familiarity with collaborative development tools and practices such as Git, code reviews, or automated testing.
  • Strong problem-solving skills, curiosity, and the ability to independently work through unfamiliar technical challenges.
  • Ability to communicate technical ideas clearly and collaborate effectively with engineers across disciplines.

Desired Qualifications

  • Experience developing software that interacts with physical hardware, embedded systems, or robotics platforms.
  • Familiarity with Linux development environments and command-line tooling.
  • Experience developing test automation, simulation software, or continuous integration pipelines.
  • Familiarity with networking concepts and communication protocols such as TCP/IP, UDP, Ethernet, CAN, UART, or SPI.
  • Experience with embedded Linux, device drivers, or low-level systems programming.
  • Hands-on experience with spacecraft, rocketry, CubeSats, robotics, Formula SAE, autonomous vehicles, or similar engineering projects.

Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in office presence for the duration of the internship.

The California annual base hourly rate for this role is currently $38-$41. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.  Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity. 

ITAR Compliance:
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) 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. Learn more about the ITAR here.  
 
Equal Employment Opportunity:
Inversion provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or disability.  
 
Inversion collects and processes personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.  If you are a US Job Applicant see the CCPA Privacy Policy Notice for further details.

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