Antenna Engineering Intern (summer 2026)

Antenna Engineering Intern (Summer 2026)

As an Antenna Engineering Intern at Impulse, your core responsibility will be to support design, test, and integration of antenna systems for spacecraft communication systems and GNSS receivers. You will work with antenna engineers, RF engineers, avionics electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, and others to develop performant and maintainable solutions. Your contributions will range from scripting for early antenna design to integration testing to supporting antennas at the vehicle level. This internship will run from May to August 2026.

Responsibilities

Perform antenna testing using test chambers and analyze test data

Analyze real-world performance of antennas, debug antenna issues on completed vehicles, and investigate methods to improve vehicle radiated performance

Support RF and avionics teams by performing EM simulations of PCBs and other vehicle structures for desense analysis, co-existence simulations, and transmission loss

Contribute to design of antennas for Impulse's future vehicles

Work closely with RF engineers and mechanical engineers to integrate antenna designs into RF front ends and vehicle structures

Design mechanical antenna support structures including mounting fixtures, hats, and other test systems

Minimum Qualifications

In progress Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related

1+ year experience in antenna, RF, or electrical hardware design, bringup, and test, including lab work and university projects

Experience writing Python, MATLAB, or another scripting tool

Familiarity with electromagnetic concepts such as impedance matching, s-parameters, microwave network analysis, and power handling

Preferred Skills and Experience

Experience doing RF system-level testing in the lab using equipment such as spectrum analyzers, power meters, oscilloscopes, and noise figure analyzers

Familiarity with a PCB design software such as KiCad, Altium, or Cadence

Experience working closely with mechanical and vehicle engineers to integrate antenna or electrical designs with mechanical hardware

Experience analyzing antenna systems in the lab (s-parameters, isolation, radiation patterns, propagation effects, etc)

Familiarity with 3D EM simulation tools such as CST, HFSS, ADS, FEKO, COMSOL, or Cenos

Experience in a start-up or agile development environment

Additional Requirements: Willing and able to work on-site in Redondo Beach, CA for the duration of the internship

This role may require overtime hours; interns are eligible for overtime pay.

Additional Information: Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan. 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.

Impulse Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Impulse Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

About Impulse Space

Impulse Space, the in-space transportation company founded by Tom Mueller, is opening access beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with its fleet of in-space transportation vehicles. The high-energy Helios vehicle unlocks orbits beyond LEO with its powerful Deneb engine, dropping off payloads in MEO, GEO, heliocentric, lunar, and other planetary orbits. The flight-proven Mira vehicle uses a nontoxic, high-impulse chemical propulsion system to offer orbital transport, constellation deployment, and precision reentry services to customers throughout LEO. Led by a team that delivered the most reliable rockets in history, Impulse provides economical and efficient in-space transportation by reliably and rapidly getting customers where they want to go.