{"schemaVersion":"jobsearcher.job.v1","id":"19a5c6ab6d0ae3f96b966d0e","url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/19a5c6ab6d0ae3f96b966d0e","canonicalUrl":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/19a5c6ab6d0ae3f96b966d0e","title":"Engineering Operations Intern","description":"FIRST ORDER EFFECTS\n\nOperations Engineering Intern\n\nInfrastructure for the Autonomous Era · First in. First up.\n\nOn-site · Austin, TX · Paid: $20–$35/hour (depending on experience) · Flexible 2–6 month term - a semester, a co-op, or the rest of your summer\n\n---------------------------------------------------\n\nWho We Are\nFirst Order Effects (FOE) is building America's Infrastructure Prime for the robotic era. Autonomous ships, drones, and robots are rewriting how the world moves, fights, and builds - but none of them work without infrastructure to power them, connect them, and launch and recover them. That's what we build.\n\nWe've Built Cutting Edge Systems at Legendary Companies\nOur team comes from SpaceX, Anduril, Saronic, Lockheed Skunk Works, Forterra, and Fuse Energy. Before founding FOE, we built satellite ground stations that closed a national comms gap in days, deployed multi-megawatt power systems at commercial speed, and shipped autonomous surface vessels into Navy fleet production. We've built infrastructure at lightspeed before - now we're applying that playbook to an entire company.\n\nAs an intern here, you won't be six layers away from the people who did those things. You'll be right alongside them.\n\nThe Role\nOperations engineering is the connective tissue between a CAD model and hardware sitting on a beach doing its job. You'll help us build, test, and deploy real systems - and help build the machine that builds them: the tooling, processes, supply chain, and test infrastructure a seed‑stage hardware company needs to move fast without breaking the wrong things.\n\nThis is not a shadowing program. You will own real work with real deadlines, and what you touch will ship.\n\nWhat You'll Do\n\nBuild real hardware. Assembly, integration, and test of MESH Box and SURGE systems - mechanical, electrical, and everything in between.\n\nOwn projects end-to-end. Scope it, design it, build it, test it, write it up. Fixtures, jigs, test rigs, harnesses, ground support equipment.\n\nRun tests. Write test procedures, instrument hardware, collect data, and tell us what it means - in the shop and at the waterfront.\n\nWrangle the supply chain. Source parts, chase vendors, drive procurement, and keep the build moving when a component is three weeks late.\n\nUnblock engineers. If it's slowing the team down - a missing tool, a broken process, a spreadsheet that should be a script - you fix it.\n\nWhatever the mission needs. Seed‑stage means the org chart is a suggestion. The interesting problems go to whoever grabs them.\n\nWhat We're Looking For\n\nPursuing a degree in mechanical, electrical, aerospace, industrial, or a related engineering field.\n\nEvidence you build things outside of class: FSAE, rocketry, robotics, solar car, a shop job, a garage project that got out of hand. Show us, don't tell us.\n\nRaw horsepower, judgment, ownership, and execution. These matter more than your GPA or which classes you've taken.\n\nComfort with ambiguity. You'd rather be handed a problem than a procedure.\n\nWillingness to get your hands dirty - literally. Warehouses, waterfronts, weather.\n\nCommand of English at a CEFR Level C1 (C2 Preferred). Bonus points for speaking a second language fluently.\n\nITAR Requirements:\n\nTo conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.\n\nWhy FOE\n\nReal ownership, real hardware, real deployments. Your work goes on systems headed for the water, not into a slide deck.\n\nSeed‑stage leverage. Everything is being built for the first time. The systems you set up become how the company works.\n\nLearn from people who've done it. Daily, direct access to engineers from SpaceX, Anduril, Saronic, and Skunk Works.\n\nPaid, flexible, and real. $20–$35/hour depending on experience. Semester, co‑op, or summer - we'll build a 2–6 month window that works with your program.\n\nA path forward. Crush it here and there's a return offer or a full-time conversation waiting.\n\nThis Is Not a Normal Internship\nWe're a small team moving very fast on a mission that matters. Some days are CAD and spreadsheets; some days are a 4 a.m. drive to the waterfront to catch a tide window. We optimize for signal over noise. If you want a structured rotation program with a polished intern curriculum, this isn't it. If you want to find out what you're capable of when someone hands you something real, it is.\n\nFOE is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with FOE is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.\n\n#J-18808-Ljbffr","company":"First Order Effects","rawCompany":"first order effects","city":"Austin","state":"TX","isRemote":false,"isActive":false,"createdAt":"2026-08-06T03:44:02.115Z","occupations":[{"code":"17-2199.00","title":"Engineers, All Other","slug":"engineers-all-other"},{"code":"17-2011.00","title":"Aerospace Engineers","slug":"aerospace-engineers"},{"code":"17-2199.08","title":"Robotics Engineers","slug":"robotics-engineers"}],"industries":[{"code":"541330","title":"Engineering Services","slug":"engineering-services"},{"code":"541715","title":"Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)","slug":"research-and-development-in-the-physical-engineering-and-life-sciences-except-nanotechnology-and-biotechnology"},{"code":"334511","title":"Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing","slug":"search-detection-navigation-guidance-aeronautical-and-nautical-system-and-instrument-manufacturing"}],"jobPosting":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"JobPosting","title":"Engineering Operations Intern","description":"FIRST ORDER EFFECTS\n\nOperations Engineering Intern\n\nInfrastructure for the Autonomous Era · First in. First up.\n\nOn-site · Austin, TX · Paid: $20–$35/hour (depending on experience) · Flexible 2–6 month term - a semester, a co-op, or the rest of your summer\n\n---------------------------------------------------\n\nWho We Are\nFirst Order Effects (FOE) is building America's Infrastructure Prime for the robotic era. Autonomous ships, drones, and robots are rewriting how the world moves, fights, and builds - but none of them work without infrastructure to power them, connect them, and launch and recover them. That's what we build.\n\nWe've Built Cutting Edge Systems at Legendary Companies\nOur team comes from SpaceX, Anduril, Saronic, Lockheed Skunk Works, Forterra, and Fuse Energy. Before founding FOE, we built satellite ground stations that closed a national comms gap in days, deployed multi-megawatt power systems at commercial speed, and shipped autonomous surface vessels into Navy fleet production. We've built infrastructure at lightspeed before - now we're applying that playbook to an entire company.\n\nAs an intern here, you won't be six layers away from the people who did those things. You'll be right alongside them.\n\nThe Role\nOperations engineering is the connective tissue between a CAD model and hardware sitting on a beach doing its job. You'll help us build, test, and deploy real systems - and help build the machine that builds them: the tooling, processes, supply chain, and test infrastructure a seed‑stage hardware company needs to move fast without breaking the wrong things.\n\nThis is not a shadowing program. You will own real work with real deadlines, and what you touch will ship.\n\nWhat You'll Do\n\nBuild real hardware. Assembly, integration, and test of MESH Box and SURGE systems - mechanical, electrical, and everything in between.\n\nOwn projects end-to-end. Scope it, design it, build it, test it, write it up. Fixtures, jigs, test rigs, harnesses, ground support equipment.\n\nRun tests. Write test procedures, instrument hardware, collect data, and tell us what it means - in the shop and at the waterfront.\n\nWrangle the supply chain. Source parts, chase vendors, drive procurement, and keep the build moving when a component is three weeks late.\n\nUnblock engineers. If it's slowing the team down - a missing tool, a broken process, a spreadsheet that should be a script - you fix it.\n\nWhatever the mission needs. Seed‑stage means the org chart is a suggestion. The interesting problems go to whoever grabs them.\n\nWhat We're Looking For\n\nPursuing a degree in mechanical, electrical, aerospace, industrial, or a related engineering field.\n\nEvidence you build things outside of class: FSAE, rocketry, robotics, solar car, a shop job, a garage project that got out of hand. Show us, don't tell us.\n\nRaw horsepower, judgment, ownership, and execution. These matter more than your GPA or which classes you've taken.\n\nComfort with ambiguity. You'd rather be handed a problem than a procedure.\n\nWillingness to get your hands dirty - literally. Warehouses, waterfronts, weather.\n\nCommand of English at a CEFR Level C1 (C2 Preferred). Bonus points for speaking a second language fluently.\n\nITAR Requirements:\n\nTo conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.\n\nWhy FOE\n\nReal ownership, real hardware, real deployments. Your work goes on systems headed for the water, not into a slide deck.\n\nSeed‑stage leverage. Everything is being built for the first time. The systems you set up become how the company works.\n\nLearn from people who've done it. Daily, direct access to engineers from SpaceX, Anduril, Saronic, and Skunk Works.\n\nPaid, flexible, and real. $20–$35/hour depending on experience. Semester, co‑op, or summer - we'll build a 2–6 month window that works with your program.\n\nA path forward. Crush it here and there's a return offer or a full-time conversation waiting.\n\nThis Is Not a Normal Internship\nWe're a small team moving very fast on a mission that matters. Some days are CAD and spreadsheets; some days are a 4 a.m. drive to the waterfront to catch a tide window. We optimize for signal over noise. If you want a structured rotation program with a polished intern curriculum, this isn't it. If you want to find out what you're capable of when someone hands you something real, it is.\n\nFOE is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with FOE is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.\n\n#J-18808-Ljbffr","datePosted":"2026-08-06T03:44:02.115Z","dateModified":"2026-08-06T03:44:02.115Z","hiringOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"First Order Effects","sameAs":"https://jobsearcher.com"},"jobLocation":{"@type":"Place","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","addressLocality":"Austin","addressRegion":"TX","addressCountry":"US"}},"identifier":{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"JobSearcher","value":"19a5c6ab6d0ae3f96b966d0e"},"url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/19a5c6ab6d0ae3f96b966d0e"}}