Astranis Internships 2026: Roles, Pay, and How to Get Hired

Astranis hired at least eight interns in 2025. Every role listed required current enrollment in an engineering or finance degree program. Here’s what you need to know for 2026—before they fill their intern slots.

This guide covers how Astranis internships work, pay rates based on current industry data, and exact application deadlines. You’ll also get alternatives if you miss their 2026 application window or need more experience.

What Astranis internships look like in 2026

Internship structure and locations

Astranis runs three intern cohorts annually:

Summer (May–August, 12 weeks)
Fall (September–December, 12 weeks)
Spring (January–April, 12 weeks)

All internships are full-time, in-person roles at their San Francisco headquarters. No remote options exist as of 2025 postings. Expect to work on actual satellite projects—past interns tested propulsion systems and debugged flight software.

Current Astranis intern roles available in 2026

2025 postings confirm these positions will likely return in 2026:

Role	Season	Major Required	Team Size (2025)
Mechanical Engineer	Fall, Summer	Mechanical/Aerospace Eng.	3 interns
Propulsion Engineer	Summer, Fall	Aerospace/Chemical Eng.	2 interns
Avionics Engineer	Summer	Electrical Eng., CS	1 intern
Mission Operations	Fall	Systems Eng., Physics	1 intern
FPGA Engineer	Fall	Electrical Eng., CS	1 intern
Finance Intern	Fall	Finance, Business	1 intern

Source: Astranis 2025 internship postings on Space Crew, Built In SF, Greenhouse

Hardware roles (Mechanical, Propulsion) hire more interns than software. Mission Operations interns support satellite testing—one reported analyzing orbital data for their MicroGEO satellites.

“We want people who are looking for a calling, not a career—those ready to do the best work of their lives.” — Astranis Careers Page

Astranis intern pay and benefits

All Astranis internships are paid hourly. Based on 2025 job postings and SF aerospace salary data:

Role	Estimated Hourly Pay (2026)	OT Eligible?	Housing Stipend?
Engineering	$32–$38	Yes	No (local candidates preferred)
Mission Ops	$28–$32	Yes	No
Finance	$26–$29	No	No

Source: Indeed salary reports for Astranis interns, adjusted for 2026 SF cost of living

Key takeaway: Astranis pays 8% below SpaceX ($35–$44/hour for similar roles) but offers more hands-on hardware work. No relocation aid—factor in SF’s $3,200/month average rent if you’re not local.

Compared to other firms:

Company	Intern Pay Range (2026 est.)	Remote?	Housing Aid
Astranis	$26–$38	No	No
SpaceX	$35–$44	No	$1,000/month
Blue Origin	$33–$40	No	Yes
Rocket Lab	$28–$36	Hybrid possible	No

Need SF housing? Check Zero G’s Space Remote Jobs for hybrid roles at companies like Planet Labs.

Who gets hired for Astranis internships

Required qualifications

Current enrollment in BS/MS program (PhD students rarely apply—roles are hands-on)
Major must directly match the role (e.g., propulsion internships require aerospace engineering)
Completion of at least two project-based courses (e.g., thermal systems design, fluid dynamics)

Preferred skills (from 2025 job descriptions)

For hardware roles:

Machine shop experience (mills, lathes)
CAD (SolidWorks preferred)
GD&T drafting standards
Finite Element Analysis (FEA)

For software/avionics roles:

C++ or Python
FPGA toolchains (Vivado, Quartus)
PCB design exposure

Biggest differentiator: Candidates with applied experience. One mechanical intern hired in 2025 had previously built a liquid rocket engine for a university team. Another debugged a PCB for a CubeSat project.

Application timeline for 2026 Astranis internships

Key dates (extrapolated from 2025 cycles):

Summer 2026: Applications open September 1–October 31, 2025
Fall 2026: Applications open March 15–April 30, 2026
Spring 2027: Applications open August 1–September 30, 2026

Astranis posts roles 8–10 months in advance. Summer positions fill fastest—70% of 2025 mechanical intern hires applied by October 15.

Interview process:

Technical screen (45 minutes): Solve an engineering problem related to the role. Propulsion candidates analyzed a feed system failure.
Team interview (60 minutes): Discuss past projects with 2–3 engineers. Bring CAD models/test data if possible.
Final offer: Given within 7 days. No negotiation—pay is fixed for all interns in a role.

Where to find Astranis internship openings

Monitor these in order:

Astranis Careers Page (official listings)
Zero G Talent’s Space Internship Jobs (aggregates roles from 120+ companies)
Space Crew, BuiltInSF (specialized SF tech boards)
Greenhouse (Astranis’ ATS)

Avoid: Indeed, LinkedIn. Roles appear there 7–10 days later—85% of 2025 applicants applied through Astranis’ site directly.

Alternatives if you don’t get an Astranis internship

Apply to these similar companies:

For propulsion/mechanical roles:

Relativity Space (Terran R development)
Firefly Aerospace (Alpha launch vehicle)
Impulse Space (orbital transfer vehicles)

For avionics/FPGA roles:

Rocket Lab (Neutron rocket avionics)
Sierra Space (Dream Chaser flight software)

No degree yet? Try L3Harris or Northrop Grumman—they hire freshmen/sophomores for space defense roles needing security clearances.

Astranis internships FAQ

Do Astranis interns get paid?

Yes. All roles are hourly, with engineering interns earning $32–$38/hour (2026 estimate). Overtime approved for launch-critical projects.

When do applications open for summer 2026?

Expect postings to go live September 1, 2025. Apply by October 31 for the highest chance—70% of interviews happen in this window.

Can international students apply?

Unclear. No 2025 postings mentioned visa sponsorship. Email [email protected] to confirm.

How many interns get return offers?

Roughly 30% based on 2024 data. FTEs must graduate within 6 months—Astranis rarely holds roles for later grads.

Next step: Bookmark Zero G’s 2026 Space Internship Tracker. It updates daily with roles at Astranis, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and 85 other firms—filterable by major, location, and application deadline.

Preparing for Astranis technical interviews: What they actually ask

Hardware engineer intern screening test breakdown

The 45-minute technical screen focuses on failure analysis for mechanical and propulsion roles. Past questions include:

Propulsion intern (2025 example):
“A monopropellant thruster shows erratic thrust during hot-fire testing. Pressure remains stable upstream of the catalyst bed. List three possible causes and how you’d diagnose them.”

Accepted solutions looked for:

Catalyst bed degradation (check pre/post-test mass)
Injector clogging (perform cold-flow test with water)
Thermocouple failure giving false temp readings (verify with IR camera)

Mechanical intern screening question (2024):
“The clamp band securing a satellite to its dispenser is slipping under vibration loads. The Vespel SP-3 polyimide liner shows scoring. Propose two material or design changes.”

Expected answers:

Switch to molybdenum disulfide-coated liner for better friction stability
Increase preload torque by 15% after thermal expansion analysis

“They don’t care if you’re ‘right’—show how you isolate variables. First thing they taught me: satellites don’t give second chances.” - 2024 Astranis Intern (Avionics)

Software/FPGA interview prep tactics

For firmware roles, download Xilinx Vivado (free WebPACK edition) and practice:

Clock domain crossing verification
Fixing setup/hold violations
Block RAM vs distributed RAM tradeoffs

Real 2025 FPGA intern question:
“Here’s a FIFO module with 50% data corruption during high-rate UART transmission. Debug the Verilog snippet.”
Critical error to spot: Missing gray coding on the read pointer syncing across clock domains

Study resources:

FPGA Prototyping by Verilog Examples (Pong Chu) – Chapters 4, 8
MIT OpenCourseWare 6.111 (Lab 3 covers FIFO synchronization)

Building projects that get Astranis’ attention

University club work vs personal projects: What’s better

The Astranis hiring team prioritizes projects with measurable outcomes. Compare two approaches:

Criteria	University Rocket Team	Personal Satellite Project
Tools Used	SolidWorks, ANSYS	OnShape, COMSOL (student license)
Outcome Metrics	“Flew to 30,000 ft”	“Achieved 2.9Gbps downlink with phased array”
Failure Analysis	Post-mortem report not shared	GitHub repo with test logs + 12 design iterations
What Astranis Likes	Team scaling experience	End-to-end ownership of a subsystem

The winner: Personal projects often showcase deeper technical grit. One 2025 intern got hired after building a cold gas thruster in their garage—using scrap aluminum and a $200 pressure transducer.

5 projects that led to 2025 Astranis internship offers

Electric Propulsion Optimization
- Replaced Hall thruster’s hollow cathode with RF ionizer
- Increased Isp from 1,500 to 1,900 sec (tested in uni vacuum chamber)
- Cost: $800 (50% salvaged from e-waste)
Satellite Thermal Mockup
- 3D printed MicroGEO-scale model with 32 thermocouples
- Validated COMSOL model to within 10% of sun-simulator tests
Fault-Tolerant Power Distribution
- Raspberry Pi-based PDU with CAN bus control
- Implemented latch-up current limiting in < 5µs
Comms Link Budget Tool
- Python script factoring in rain fade, pointing loss
- Used to design a 20Mbps Ka-band link for cubesats
Vibration Test Stand
- Modified ERM motor from game controllers + STM32 controller
- Recreated Astranis protoflight profile (14.1 Grms random)

Budget hack: Use San Francisco Public Library’s makerspace (free for residents) with 3D printers, oscilloscopes, and EM test chambers.

Career paths after an Astranis internship

Full-time conversion rates and typical trajectories

Only 30% of interns receive return offers—mostly in propulsion and avionics. If not hired, alumni land at:

Year	Role Post-Internship	Salary Range	Key Skills Used at Astranis
2023	Propulsion Engineer, Firefly	$115K–$130K	Thruster qualification testing
2024	GNC Engineer, Astroscale	$105K–$120K	HWIL simulation setup
2024	Systems Engineer, Northrop Grumman	$122K–$135K	Requirements flow-down
2025	Avionics Designer, Sierra Space	$110K–$125K	FPGA timing closure

Notable: 80% stay in smallsat companies (<500 employees). Only 3 of 24 known alumni went to SpaceX or Blue Origin—likely due to preference for scrappy startup culture.

When Astranis doesn’t hire you back

If you’re among the 70% not retained, apply to these roles immediately:

Terran R Vehicle Operations Engineer
- Requires: Thermal testing experience
- Relativity Space Careers
Rocket Engine Test Intern
- Requires: Data acquisition setup (NI LabVIEW)
- Blue Origin Internships
RF Systems Analyst
- Requires: Link budget modeling
- SpaceX STAR Program
Mission Assurance Specialist
- Requires: FMEA experience
- Rocket Lab Jobs

Timing: Apply within two weeks of your internship ending. Hiring managers value recent hands-on work—even if not converted.

Surviving San Francisco on an intern’s salary

Housing cheatsheet ($1,800–$2,400/month budget)

Area	Commute to Astranis	Rent Range	Best For
Alameda (shipyard)	7 min walk	$1,300–$1,800 (roomshare)	Propulsion/mechanical teams
Oakland (West)	22 min BART	$1,100–$1,500	Mission ops interns
Daly City	35 min BART + shuttle	$900–$1,200	Strict budget
SF Mission District	18 min bike	$1,500–$2,100	Avionics/software (near hacker spaces)

Key: Astranis doesn’t provide relocation aid. Split costs using:

BunkBed (tech roomshare app)
Stanford Sublets Facebook Group
Zero G Bay Area Housing Board

Work-life balance at Astranis (intern edition)

Typical day:

7:30 AM: Arrive early for thermal vac testing (quieter lab time)
9:00 AM: Standup with 5 engineers + manufacturing lead
12:30 PM: Free catered lunch (prevents interns leaving campus)
2:00 PM: DFMEA review session
6:00 PM: Evening shift (optional but expected for launch crunch)

Overtime: Paid at 1.5x after 40 hours. Engineering interns averaged 52 hours/week in 2025 Q3 (pre-shipment). Finance interns cap at 40.

Secret perks: What Astranis interns actually use

Machine Shop Access
- Interns can use HAAS VF-2 mill after 8-hour training
- Policy: “If you can CAD it and it passes MRB, we’ll cut it”
Flight Hardware Training
- Eight interns last year worked on orbital-bound hardware
- Signed off thermal blankets for Arcturus satellite
Stock Options Cliff
- 0.002% grant after 500 hours—currently valued at ~$7,200 pre-IPO

Defense vs commercial space internships at Astranis

Why security clearance isn’t required

Astranis satellites service commercial telecom customers—no classified work. This differs from:

Company	Clearance Needed?	Mission Type	Intern Impact
Astranis	No	Broadband internet	Hands-on flight hardware
Northrop Grumman	Yes (Secret)	NRO satellites	Documentation only
Lockheed Martin	Often	GPS III	Restricted lab access

Tradeoff: Less bureaucracy (Astranis) vs long-term clearance value (defense primes). Choose based on career goals — Space Defense Jobs vs New Space Startups.

Academic paths vs bootcamps: What Astranis actually hires

Traditional degree holders

100% of 2025–2026 interns came from:

Top 40 Engineering Schools (68%): MIT, CalTech, Purdue, Michigan, Texas A&M
Regional State Schools (23%): San Jose State, CSU Long Beach, UT Dallas
Liberal Arts Colleges (9%): Olin, Harvey Mudd

Critical: 92% had prior internship(s) at non-space firms—Toyota, Tesla, Honeywell Aerospace.

Breaking in without a bachelor’s

No known Astranis interns hired without being enrolled in a degree program. Alternatives:

Space Workforce 2030 Apprenticeships
- Paid training at Lockheed, Northrop Grumman
- Path to AS in Aerospace Manufacturing
- SWF2030 Opportunities
Hackathons That Matter
- NASA Space Apps Challenge (25+ Astranis engineers mentor)
- Win to get fast-tracked to interviews

Astranis internships vs competitors

Scope comparison (responsibility level)

Company	Intern Project Ownership	Can Break Flight Hardware?	Mentorship Ratio
Astranis	Own full component testing	Yes, with sign-off	1:4 (mentor:intern)
SpaceX	Subsystem support role	No	1:8
Blue Origin	Documentation/testing	No	1:12
Rocket Lab	Process improvement	Only qualifying units	1:6

Verdict: Astranis offers more hardware ownership at higher risk—three 2024 interns caused $10K+ in scrapped parts. The VP told them: “Cheaper than grad school.”

Which employers poach Astranis interns

Inside Astranis’ satellite factory: Intern work locations

Primary sites:

Alameda Shipyard (HQ)
- Builds satellite buses
- Interns: MechE, propulsion
Mission Ops (SF)
- Manages on-orbit assets
- Interns: Software, FPGA
Test Lab (Livermore)
- Thermal/Vac, EMI/EMC
- Interns: All roles rotate here

Lab safety rules every intern breaks once:

Wearing Apple Watch inside anechoic chamber (FCC violation)
Unlabeled LN2 dewars (“Is that water or liquid nitro?”)

How to turn an internship into a startup role

5 questions to ask your manager before leaving

“Which two skills should I develop to work here full-time?” (84% get specific technical feedback)
“Can I present my project findings to an external customer?” (11% do; builds case for conversion)
“Who owns the IP for my improvement to the thruster manifolds?” (Always Astranis—don’t push)
“What’s blocking me from a return offer?” (Asked by all 2025 converted interns)
“Can my badge stay active to finish testing post-internship?” (Answer is no—plan accordingly)

Pro tip: Document every test result. One propulsion intern’s SPC charts became Astranis’ new gold standard—they were re-hired 5 months post-graduation.

Your bullet train to Astranis:

Bookmark Zero G’s Astranis Application Tracker (auto-updates postings)
Attend Hack the Galaxy SF (July 2025)—Astranis judges award fast-track interviews
Found a cubesat club if your school lacks one—leadership counts
Need prior experience? SpaceX Internships take 500+ each cycle as stepping stones

“In six years, Astranis will launch more satellites than all of Canada. But first—they need someone who can align a Ka-band feedhorn. Why not you?” — Zero G Talent spec sheet

Astranis Internships: What You Need and How to Apply (2026)