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It’s never too early to start planning your engineering internship. For summer internships, applications can close as early as January of the year in question. Other internships, especially at larger companies, operate on rolling deadlines. But simply applying is often not enough. Engineering internships can be as competitive as they are lucrative, and researching and networking early on is critical.
Common requirements for engineering internships include: a competitive undergraduate GPA (3.0 or greater); an up-to-date resume with relevant experience; an essay or personal statement; and letter(s) of recommendation. Other requirements may include background checks and eligibility for security clearance.
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Housed within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the NBIB has a mission to improve health by leading the development and accelerating the application of biomedical technologies. Their Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship Program (BESIP) allows undergraduate engineering students who have just completed their junior year to participate in cutting-edge biomedical research projects with world-class scientists at NIH laboratories. In previous years, BESIP projects have included: fluorescence lifetime imaging; characteristics of hemodynamics in sickle cell disease using optical spectroscopy; and using EEG to compare brain activation in children with and without cerebral palsy.
DuPont
DuPont is one of the world’s largest chemical companies. Over the course of history, DuPont engineers have helped invent substances like nylon, Kevlar, and Lycra. Their summer internship program is designed to provide undergraduate chemical engineering students with the opportunity to work collaboratively with DuPont professionals on major projects.
Today, chemical engineering students who intern at DuPont will typically fill support roles in manufacturing and operations, and can focus in a number of different subspecialization areas. Interns will have the opportunity to gain industrial experience, work alongside experts, and develop an understanding of location-specific manufacturing technology.
American Bridge Company
Founded in 1900, American Bridge Company is a legendary civil engineering firm. Engineers at American Bridge Company have helped build the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and the Bay Bridge in Oakland, California. The company’s summer internship allows interns to apply their skills to a real-life setting.
Under the supervision of experienced engineers, interns will perform a variety of engineering support assignments for bridge and marine construction projects. Specific assignments may include: preparing engineering reports; performing inspections as part of a team; preparing construction cost estimates; and building construction scheduling. The location of the internship may be at either the corporate office in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, at one of multiple regional offices, or at a project job site location.
X
X is Google’s Moonshot Factory, where engineers come together to try and develop solutions that have a major impact on the world’s greatest challenges. X engineers have incubated hundreds of different sci-fi sounding projects, many of which have gone on to become independent businesses. X’s software engineering internship will place interns on confidential or public projects.
The software engineering internship can last up to a year, and is flexible to an applicant’s availability and each specific project’s needs. Interns will not only get to work side by side with X engineers but also get access to Google benefits, including attending colloquium and tech talks with Google team leads.
Apple
Apple is the largest information technology company in the world, and the most valuable company in the world. Since its founding in 1976, Apple engineers have helped usher in multiple revolutions in personal computing, designing products like the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Their hardware engineering internship seeks motivated electrical engineering students to support the design, integration, implementation, and testing of various electrical subsystems.
Competitive candidates will understand chip design, computer system architecture, and wireless communication. Prior internship experience or relevant work experience is a plus. Possible areas of internship focus include: camera/touch/display engineering; wireless technology; embedded systems development; human interface devices; and firmware development.
Environmental Protection Agency - Office Of Water
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the US federal government. Its Office of Water ensures that drinking water is safe, and restores and maintains oceans, watersheds, and their aquatic ecosystems to protect human health, support economic and recreational activities, and provide healthy habitats for fish, plants, and wildlife.
The EPA Office of Water has a number of unpaid internships available, including in the area of environmental engineering. Internships are available in summer, spring, and fall. Ideal candidates will have demonstrated interests and career goals in water and/or public health-related fields, including sustainability and resilience. While there is no stipend for interns, transit subsidies are available.
The Walt Disney Company
Disney is a multinational entertainment and media conglomerate with over $200 billion in assets. In addition to its intellectual property, Disney manufactures a wide range of merchandise, operates theme parks across the globe, and provides a major streaming service.
Their industrial engineering internship gives interns a chance to help bring Disney stories to life at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Industrial engineering interns at Disney will conduct industrial engineering analysis projects, and both lead and participate in projects that engage with all levels of cast and management. Interns will work across various operating areas, including merchandise, attractions, and entertainment. Available to both students and recent graduates, the internship runs from August 2022 to December 2022.
Tesla
Tesla is an electric vehicle company based in Austin, Texas. Since its founding in 2003, it’s become one of the world’s most valuable companies. Tesla is also an industry leader in clean energy solutions, with its engineers helping to design self-driving cars and novel batteries that can help power a greener world. Tesla’s materials engineering summer internship gives interns a chance to help build that future, too.
The materials engineering team at Tesla is responsible for a wide range of components, and interns will work across a similarly wide range. Interns will help develop, qualify, test, and implement solutions involving metals, ceramics, glass, polymers, and adhesives. Previous internship experience is preferred, and experience with 3D CAD tools is expected.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Founded in the 1930s, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally-funded research and development center owned by NASA and managed by the California Institute of Technology (CalTech). JPL mainly focuses on the construction and operation of space robotics, and its engineers have helped design the Curiosity rover and the Ingenuity helicopter.
JPL is looking for mechanical engineering students for summer internships. Interns will join a campus-like environment and partner with experienced engineers to work on high-tech innovations in spacecraft and mission control systems.
Westinghouse Electric Company
Westinghouse Electric Company is a major nuclear power company with over 9,000 employees. Spun off from the nuclear division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1999, the firm has engineering roots that date back much further, and Westinghouse was instrumental in the development of nuclear energy systems in the United States.
Westinghouse is seeking nuclear engineering students for summer internships for technical engineering positions in nuclear engineering. Interns will provide engineering designs and analysis for nuclear power plants, meet with customers and vendors, and collaborate with experienced nuclear engineers.
Nike
Nike is one of the largest sports apparel and equipment companies in the world. Since its inception in 1964, Nike has taken an innovative approach to almost every aspect of its business. Quality engineers at Nike have a wide mandate, and are of particular importance on manufacturing and sourcing teams.
Nike’s undergraduate quality engineering internship is specific to its AIR Manufacturing Innovation team. Here, quality engineering interns will join teams that manage the outgoing quality of manufactured products related to Nike Air and footwear. Responsibilities can include process development, continuous improvement in manufacturing, root cause analysis, and production support. Interns will be mentored by quality engineers as well as cross-functional teammates. Experience with plastic engineering is a plus.
Boeing
Boeing is one of the largest aerospace manufacturers globally and one of the largest defense contractors. Boeing designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, satellites, telecommunications equipment, missiles, rockets, and more. They also recruit many engineering students for internships across a wide range of disciplines.
Boeing’s systems engineering internship gives systems engineering students the chance to focus their skills towards real-world problems. Systems engineers can focus in several different areas, from customer engineering, to regulatory administration, to system safety, and more. Interns will also get exposure to networking events and the opportunity to meet executives and mentors.
Matt Zbrog is a writer and researcher from Southern California. Since 2018, he’s written extensively about a wide range of engineering disciplines, with a particular focus on the potential impacts of major technological breakthroughs. His work largely centers around conversations with engineering faculty at top universities, highlighting their research in areas such as nuclear power, artificial intelligence, soft robotics, and semiconductor design. He’s also worked with leaders and subject matter experts at the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).
Why are women underrepresented in engineering, the top-paying undergraduate major in the country? Why does a disproportionate amount of engineering research funding go to men? Which schools are actively creating opportunities for women? Which female engineers are leading the way? Find out here.
Engineers might be the only group of people where you can give them a problem—and they can consider it a gift. The engineering mind thrives on hunting for elegant solutions to complex tasks. That doesn’t mean you should give an engineering student a homework assignment for the holidays, but it does mean you can have some fun with the gift you eventually select.
Not long ago, self-driving cars were science fiction. Today, not so much. Influential companies like Tesla, Uber, Apple, and Google boast dynamic auto-drive programs, and many new startups are following their lead.
The 12th annual National Robotics Week (RoboWeek) takes place April 2-10, 2022. Established by Congress in 2010, this tech-focused week is about demonstrating the positive societal impacts of robotic technologies, and inspiring students of all ages to pursue careers related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).
Students with a penchant for mathematics and the sciences might consider pursuing coursework in engineering at a private research university. Programs in engineering vary widely, but all of them train students to analyze, interpret, and build solutions for commercial and societal needs.
