The intern will contribute to the design, prototyping, and testing of aerospace electrical hardware. They will own a scoped project, build and debug real hardware, and iterate designs based on bench testing results.
Requirements overview
Candidates must be currently enrolled in an electrical engineering or related degree program and returning to school or graduating in 2027. Applicants must possess hands-on experience with electrical design and debugging tools and meet U.S. person requirements under ITAR.
Amca is building a new industrial base for America that is faster, distributed, and multi-sourced. We increase competition and capacity for every class of critical component to build and sustain the planes, military vehicles, and core infrastructure America needs.
For decades, America’s legacy industrial base for critical components has become increasingly uncompetitive and capacity-constrained. As a result, the gap between what America needs and what it can produce is the largest it has been in generations.
To address today’s bottlenecks, Amca is pioneering a faster and more resilient way to develop and manufacture critical aerospace and defense components. Traditional manufacturers often silo design, testing, and production into separate workflows, resulting in years-long timelines and high program risk. Amca brings those functions together into a single, integrated system that pairs rapid design and qualification of components with certified production at scale.
By combining rapid prototyping, software-enabled testing, extensive qualification infrastructure, and a growing network of AS9100D-certified factories, Amca can move critical components from requirement to production within weeks. The end result is faster delivery, greater access to technical data, and reduced dependence on a single source of supply.
Today, Amca supplies products for major aerospace and defense platforms, including the F-35, F-16, F/A-18, Mk-48, 737MAX, 787, 777, A320, and M1 Abrams. We also support U.S. military sustainment programs focused on readiness-related shortages and diminishing manufacturing sources. We have raised $376M in funding and are backed by leading investors including Caffeinated Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Lux Capital and Founders Fund.
Amca is building America’s new industrial base. Since the 1990s, our ability to build new aviation and military systems and maintain the ones we already have has eroded. Today, the gap between what the nation needs to produce and what it is capable of producing is the largest it has been in generations.
To help close that gap, Amca rapidly develops and manufactures new critical components and subsystems required to build and sustain the planes, military vehicles, and core infrastructure America needs. Today, we operate seven factories nationwide, including our advanced prototyping and testing headquarters in El Segundo, and deliver avionics, hydraulic, and electrical components for platforms such as the F-35, F-16, F/A-18, 737MAX, 787, A320neo, A321, Mk-48, and M1 Abrams.
Overview
The Electrical Design Engineering Intern works alongside our electrical team to take aerospace hardware from concept toward flight qualification. You will own a scoped electrical design project for the summer, with a dedicated mentor and direct access to the build and test engineers who will bring your work to life.
This is not a shadowing program. Interns at Amca design, build, and debug real hardware. You should expect your schematics and boards to be reviewed with the same rigor as a full-time engineer's, and to have something on the bench before you leave.
Responsibilities
Contribute to the design and prototyping of new electrical hardware
Support electrical design for flight hardware, including schematic capture, electrical analysis, component selection, de-rating, and PCBA layout
Build up and bring up early revision hardware, then iterate quickly based on what the bench tells you
Run bench testing and basic functional and development tests on the hardware you build
Debug failures down to root cause and carry the fix back into the design
Select components with attention to de-rating, tolerance, and availability, and defend those choices in design review
Work with test engineering to help define and execute functional and environmental test plans
Incorporate manufacturability and testability feedback from build engineers into your layouts
Help evaluate existing Amca designs for opportunities to improve reliability and reduce cost
Present your project and results to the engineering team at the end of the internship
Basic Qualifications
Currently enrolled in a Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD program in electrical engineering, computer engineering, engineering physics, or a related field
Returning to school in Fall 2027, or graduating in Spring 2027 and interested in a full-time role
Completed coursework in circuits, electronics, or signals, and a working understanding of first principles across power, filtering, and logic
Hands-on electrical design experience through coursework, a student project team, personal projects, or a prior internship
Comfortable debugging with an oscilloscope, multimeter, and logic analyzer
Preferred Skills and Experience
Experience with schematic capture and PCB layout tools such as Altium, KiCad, or OrCAD
Experience with circuit simulation, component selection, and de-rating
Experience on a student project team building electronics for physical hardware, such as rocketry, Formula SAE, CubeSat, or robotics
Firmware or embedded software experience
Familiarity with DO-160, MIL-STD, or other qualification and certification frameworks
Exceptionally curious and a fast learner, able to contribute across diverse part categories and manufacturing processes
Demonstrated ability to use engineering first principles to challenge and simplify requirements
Hands-on and practical, comfortable building, testing, and troubleshooting in real-world environments
Thrives with ownership and takes initiative without waiting to be directed
Additional Requirements
This internship is on-site in El Segundo, California.
Occasional travel to vendors or other Amca sites may be required
This position requires use of information which is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). All applicants must be U.S. persons within the meaning of ITAR. ITAR defines a US person as: any individual who is granted U.S. citizenship; or. any individual who is granted U.S. permanent residence ("Green Card" holder); or. any individual who is granted status as a "protected person" under 8 U.S.C 1324b(a)(3).
The Advanced Manufacturing Company of America prohibits discrimination or harassment based on the following categories: race, color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, protected medical leaves (requesting or approved for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act or the California Family Rights Act), domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.