Avionics Embedded Software Engineer - Summer Internship 2027
- No experience required
- US citizenship
- ITAR / US person
How this pay compares
This posting does not state its pay. Open software engineer jobs in California post a median of $180k a year, the middle half $155k–$212k, across 449 jobs that state their pay.
About the job
## Who We Are Inversion is an aerospace and defense company pioneering advanced reentry technology to enable next-generation capabilities from space. By combining high-performance materials, precision aerodynamics, and mission-driven autonomy, Inversion is transforming reentry into an operational capability for an entirely new class of missions.
The company’s highly maneuverable reentry spacecraft, Arc, is designed for rapid global cargo delivery, hypersonic testing, and other national security missions that require precise, controlled flight through the atmosphere. Arc creates an entirely new transportation domain, unlocking unprecedented speed and global reach.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Inversion designs, manufactures, and integrates its spacecraft under one roof, enabling the company to move rapidly from concept to flight.
The company is backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, with customers across the U.S. government and commercial space industry. ## Position Overview As an Avionics Embedded Software Engineering Intern, you will support the development, integration, verification, and debugging of embedded software for Inversion’s next-generation reentry vehicles.
You will sit within the Avionics team and work closely with embedded software, electrical, RF, GNC, test, and vehicle engineers to develop software that interfaces directly with flight hardware.
You will gain hands-on experience developing and debugging firmware and embedded software, bringing up new hardware, integrating sensors and communications interfaces, and validating software in laboratory and hardware-in-the-loop environments.
This is a practical, systems-focused internship for students interested in embedded systems, real-time software, flight computers, hardware/software integration, and aerospace applications. ## Key Responsibilities - Work closely with embedded software and avionics engineers to develop, integrate, test, and debug flight software and firmware. - Develop software for microcontrollers, processors, sensors, communications interfaces, and other avionics hardware. - Support board bring-up and hardware/software integration, including debugging interfaces between embedded software and electrical hardware. - Implement and debug drivers and interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet, GPIO, ADCs, and other embedded interfaces. - Develop and execute software tests using laboratory hardware, engineering test fixtures, and hardware-in-the-loop systems. - Support real-time software development using an RTOS or similar embedded software framework. - Debug software and hardware issues using tools such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, debuggers, serial consoles, and software instrumentation. - Develop test scripts and analysis tools using Python or similar languages to automate validation and characterize system behavior. - Support integration of sensors, flight computers, RF systems, power electronics, and other avionics subsystems. - Analyze failures and anomalies, identify root causes, and work with multidisciplinary teams to implement and verify corrective actions. - Document software behavior, test results, interfaces, and technical findings to support flight hardware development and verification. ## Required Qualifications - Must be enrolled in a bachelor’s, master's or doctorate degree program in computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, aerospace engineering, or a related engineering discipline. - GPA of 3.0 or above. - 3+ months of applied engineering experience (internship, laboratory, and personal/team project experience is applicable). - Coursework or project experience in embedded systems, computer architecture, operating systems, real-time systems, or related disciplines. - Experience programming in C or C++. - Experience developing software for a microcontroller, embedded processor, FPGA-based system, robotics platform, or similar hardware. - Strong problem-solving, written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate technical results clearly to multidisciplinary teams. ## Desired Qualifications - Hands-on experience with an RTOS such as Zephyr, FreeRTOS, or similar. - Experience with embedded Linux or low-level software development. - Experience developing device drivers or low-level hardware interfaces. - Familiarity with SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet, GPIO, ADCs, or similar embedded interfaces. - Experience debugging embedded systems using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, JTAG/SWD debuggers, or similar tools. - Experience with board bring-up and hardware/software integration. - Experience developing automated software tests or hardware-in-the-loop test systems. - Experience with Python for test automation, data analysis, or development tooling. - Familiarity with real-time concepts such as interrupts, scheduling, concurrency, synchronization, timing constraints, and memory management. - Experience developing embedded systems through Formula SAE, student rocketry, CubeSat, robotics, or similar engineering projects. - Previous internship experience at a space, aerospace, or hardware startup. - Familiarity with Git, CI/CD, software configuration management, and collaborative software development practices. ## Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA.
This position requires in-office presence. The California annual base hourly rate for this role is currently $38-$41. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.
Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity. ## ITAR Compliance 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 . ## Equal Employment Opportunity Inversion provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or disability. Inversion collects and processes personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
If you are a US Job Applicant see the CCPA Privacy Policy Notice for further details.
From Inversion Space's job posting, checked 7 Nov 2026. The employer's own page is the final word on requirements and availability.
Selected agencies hiring now
Contract Professionals Inc (CPI)Engineering and technical staffing agency
Aerospace and defense staffing firm in Waterford, Michigan, placing engineers, maintenance technicians, mechanics, welders and CNC machinists.
Places: Propulsion, Mechanical, Avionics, RF & Payloads
Moseley Technical ServicesEngineering and technical staffing agency
Engineering and technical staffing firm in Huntsville, Alabama, placing engineers and A&P, sheet metal, CNC and quality technicians.
Places: Propulsion, Mechanical, Avionics, RF & Payloads
These agencies and apps pay SpaceJobs.Now a referral fee when someone we introduce is placed or signs up. It costs you nothing and never changes your pay. Employers' own jobs below keep their own order.
Sponsored jobs from job networks, which pay SpaceJobs.Now when you click one.
Free tools for this application: check your resume against this job, answer the application's questions, write your internship essay or see every free tool.
New flight software and GNC jobs in California, by email
One email a week with the newest ones, straight from the employers' own careers sites, with the pay each posting states. Free, stop anytime.
About Inversion Space
Making space a transportation layer for Earth.
Pay on its listings: 90.2% of its open jobs state an hourly rate
How it pays: Paid as an employee on Inversion Space's own payroll (salaried or hourly, as each posting states).
More open jobs at Inversion Space
- Senior Content Producer$100,000–$150,000/yr
- Hardware Test and Automation Engineer I$77,000–$116,000/yr
- Procurement Specialist II$80,000–$125,000/yr
- Head of Accurate Landing$161,000–$230,000/yr
- Vehicle Software Engineer - Summer Internship 2027
- AI & Internal Tools Software Engineer - Summer Internship 2027
More flight software and GNC jobs
- Software Development Engineer, Amazon Leo, Embedded Platform$165,200–$223,600/yr
- Design Authority Solution Logiciel (Logiciel embarqué / Bancs de test / Simulateurs) - F/H
- Senior Embedded Software Engineer$140,500–$221,500/yr
- Senior Software Engineer (Lead) - Terminal Software$168,000–$265,000/yr
- Embedded Flight Software Engineer 2
- GNC Engineer (Dragon)$125,000–$195,000/yr
Written flight software or GNC?
One profile for every employer here. Space companies and their recruiters ask us for people with a specific degree, clearance, specialty or location: add yours once, and when a job fits, we introduce you, only with your yes. Free.
Inversion Space openings, sent to you weekly
Each week we send the newest postings from Inversion Space's own careers site, along with similar openings at other space employers. It costs nothing and you can stop anytime.