Summer 2027

Mechanical Engineer Intern

Summer 2027

Updated on 8/1/2026

Beyond Reach Labs

Beyond Reach Labs

1-10 employees

Deployable solar arrays for space power

Compensation Overview

$28/hr

No H1B Sponsorship

New York, NY, USA + 1 more

More locations: Brooklyn, NY, USA

In Person

Minimum 12 weeks on-site.

US Citizenship Required

Category
Mechanical Engineering (1)
Required Skills
CAD
FEM/FEA

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Requirements
  • Working toward a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
  • Having at least 6 months of experience outside the classroom through project teams, research, or internships.
  • Experience designing and qualifying mechanisms driven by stepper motors, brushless direct-current motors, springs, and hold-down and release mechanisms.
  • Proficiency in developing design models and drawings for production and analysis using computer-aided design software.
  • Being a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or eligible for authorization under U.S. export regulations.
  • Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as necessary to support critical project milestones.
Responsibilities
  • Identify and analyze requirements, conduct trade studies on mechanism design options, and apply first-principles engineering analysis to optimize mechanisms and systems for satellites.
  • Create and iterate detailed computer-aided design models, including mechanism architecture, material and lubrication selections, assembly processes, and test methods.
  • Conduct classical and finite element analysis for static, dynamic, thermal, and fatigue load conditions to ensure adequate margins and reliability.
  • Develop and execute comprehensive test plans throughout development.
  • Define qualification plans and identify acceptance testing methods.
  • Produce complete design packages, including detailed drawings, analysis reports, bills of materials, and assembly documentation.
  • Facilitate cost trades on multiple parallel configurations to balance cost, manufacturability, and design risk.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams and customers to ensure smooth integration with the spacecraft.
Desired Qualifications
  • Project management experience for technical projects.
  • Expertise in materials selection for space applications.
  • Experience working with very large lightweight deployable structures.
  • Proficiency using Fusion and Ansys for computer-aided design and analysis.

Beyond Reach Labs develops deployable solar arrays and metamaterial-based structures for space, aiming to multiply energy per launch for orbital infrastructure. Its lightweight, reconfigurable design uses novel deployable architectures and mechanical metamaterials to pack compactly and expand in space, delivering hundreds of kilowatts of power. Led by SpaceX and robotics experts, the team combines deep space hardware experience with origami/kirigami-inspired design and offers access to simulation tools and collaborative research. The goal is to power future space assets such as data centers, space stations, and lunar outposts with reliable, scalable space power systems.

Company Size

1-10

Company Stage

Seed

Total Funding

$10.1M

Headquarters

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Founded

2023

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • $342.6M in LOIs signals strong near-term demand for 100m arrays ahead of 2030 orbital power shortage.
  • Flight qualification by end-2026 and 2027 demo launch positions Beyond Reach ahead of data center surge.
  • Brooklyn facility targets over 10 units daily production by end-2027 to scale for orbital infrastructure needs.

What critics are saying

  • Northrop Grumman's UltraFlex/MegaFlex serves 80% of demand, blocking entry until flight qualification completes in 6–12 months.
  • Non-binding LOIs convert to zero contracts if flight qualification fails by Q2 2027, with 70–85% failure probability.
  • Two-person team cannot support 10-units/day target by 2027, causing 18+ month delay in manufacturing and qualification.

What makes Beyond Reach Labs unique

  • PET and HERDS patent-pending architectures expand 100m from dining-table size using centripetal deployment.
  • Co-CEOs combine 7 years SpaceX Dragon parachute leadership with NASA kilometer-scale deployable structures PhD research.
  • Mechanical metamaterials enable 10x more power and 88% lower cost than traditional scissor-based solar arrays.

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