Engineering Intern (Year-Round)

About the role

Leander, TX | Onsite | Internship

General Qualifications (All Roles)

• America matters. The mission matters. You must believe deeply in both.
• High-agency self-starter who moves fast and delivers without waiting for instructions.
• Extreme ownership. No excuses. No "that's not my job."
• Strong judgment and a relentless bias for action.
• Comfortable operating without a playbook, solving hard problems, and adapting as priorities change.
• Low ego, high standards, and committed to winning as a team.
• ITAR Requirement: To conform with U.S. Government export regulations, applicants must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), refugee, asylee, or otherwise eligible to obtain the required authorization from the U.S. Department of State.

The Role

This is a year-round internship, not a summer program. You'll work part-time during the semester, scheduled around your classes, and full-time over summer and winter breaks. Start dates are rolling, and we'd like you to stay with us until you graduate.

You won't be shadowing anyone. From your first week you'll own real parts, test fixtures, and problems on our hardware, working alongside the engineers who designed it. You'll draw it, build it, break it, and fix it. If it works on paper but fails on the range, it isn't done.

• Model parts and assemblies in CAD, make drawings with tolerances, and run your own hand calcs and FEA.
• Machine, print, and assemble your own prototypes, in our shop or with outside vendors.
• Instrument and run bench and range tests, find what failed, fix it, and test again.
• Source parts, follow up with vendors, and keep BOMs current so builds don't stall.
• Write down what you learned so the next build goes faster.
• Pick a track when you apply: mechanical, propulsion, electrical/firmware, software/autonomy, or manufacturing.

Required Skills and Experience

• Currently enrolled in a BS or MS engineering program.
• Live within commuting distance of our Leander facility for the length of the internship. This role is fully onsite, and we do not offer relocation or housing.
• At least 16 hours a week during the semester and full-time over summer and winter breaks, for at least one full semester.
• Working knowledge of a CAD tool (SolidWorks, Onshape, Fusion 360, NX, or similar).
• Something you built that worked: a class project, a competition vehicle, a motor, a circuit board, a home shop.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• GPA of 3.5 or higher.
• Experience with rocketry, propulsion, energetics, firearms, or drones, in school or on your own.
• Machine shop, welding, composites, or 3D printing experience.
• FEA, CFD, or MATLAB/Python for engineering analysis.
• A previous internship or co-op at a hardware company.

Why Wild West

• Build the whole thing. Own your work from first principles through design, prototype, test, iteration, and production. What you build will leave the screen and enter the real world.
• Build where the hardware gets built. Engineering, fabrication, manufacturing, and testing happen under one roof, so ideas move fast.
• Make an impact from day one. Your decisions will shape the product, the roadmap, and the company itself.
• Move at mission speed. Work with urgency, solve hard problems, and turn ambitious ideas into field-ready systems.
• Work with exceptional people. Join a team defined by high standards, low ego, direct communication, and relentless execution.

What We Offer

• Flexible semester schedule: Hours built around your classes
• Mentorship: Daily work with the engineers who designed the system
• A path to full-time: We hire interns with the goal of keeping them after graduation

Location and Eligibility

• This is an onsite internship at our facility in Leander, Texas, approximately 30 minutes from downtown Austin.
• You must live within commuting distance of Leander for the length of the internship.
• We do not offer relocation or housing.

Itar

Eligibility: To conform with U.S. Government export regulations, applicants must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), refugee, asylee, or otherwise eligible to obtain the required authorization from the U.S. Department of State.

• Wild West Systems uses E-Verify to confirm employment authorization.
• Direct applicants only. We do not work with staffing companies for this role.