Mechanical Engineering Intern (Fall 2024)

Company Overview:

Second Order Effects (SOE) is an engineering consulting firm that transforms uncertainty into fully functional hardware and software. We work on projects at all stages of development; we perform analysis, build prototypes, and take products to market. Our team solves high-impact problems across numerous industries, including automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, industrial automation, biomedical, and green energy. Our designs control rocket engines, manage satellite communications, instrument fusion reactors, and are enjoyed by consumers around the world. The only thing we won’t build is weapons.

Founded in 2016, Second Order Effects has 50+ employees (and counting!) in offices in El Segundo, California and Redmond, Washington. We've worked with >130 clients on > 300 projects as a partner, on retainer, or on demand.

How do we do this? We prioritize others, build the right thing, welcome difficulty, and play the long game. Learn more at soeffects.com!

Team Overview:

While mechanical engineering is SOE’s youngest and least mature discipline, the team’s roots stretch back to the very beginning when SOE made a name for itself developing cutting edge products such as RF combiners that use custom copper-tungsten elements and phased-array speakers in acoustically-optimized enclosures. This close coupling of electrical and mechanical design persists, and as the scope and complexity of our projects has continued to grow so do the demands on our mechanical engineering team.

Being a part of the mechanical engineering team today is like working for a startup inside a larger company - a highly collaborative environment within the team, constant interdisciplinary interfacing, investment in developing each other and ourselves, and personal ownership and accountability for our work. We look forward to welcoming you to the team!

Job Overview:

As a Mechanical Engineering Intern, you will be part of a core SOE team and support all of the projects by performing design and analysis of enclosures, mechanisms, and custom parts for customers. You will need to balance your creativity and technical knowledge, as innovation requires both. Ideally, you can effectively communicate technical concepts to all audiences. 

What You Will Do:

• Report to a mentor who will be responsible for candidate feedback and learning— mentors will also assign tasks and projects to work closely with the teams
• Perform mechanical system analysis and architecture on a variety of projects
• Design and analyze active and passive thermal management systems for custom electronic systems and packaging solutions
• Perform analyses on electro-mechanical components for environmental strain, such as vibe, shock, thermal, and acceleration
• Develop thermal, structural, and tolerance analyses for electro-mechanical assemblies using both hand calculations and finite element analysis (FEA)
• Test electro-mechanical assemblies and perform failure analysis of components
• Work with multidisciplinary engineering teams to design, test, and create new mechanical systems

What You Will Need:

• Current enrollment in college (Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Math, or related field)
• First or second year circuits classes and knowledge of electrical engineering fundamentals
• Experience in modeling, simulation, and testing of electro-mechanical components or assemblies
• Familiarity with manufacturing processes, such as machining, injection molding, water jetting, electro-discharge machining, and 3D printing
• Familiarity with generating thermal models for electronic assemblies and analyzing both active and passive cooling systems

What Would Be Useful:

• Experience in team-based design and build projects (e.g., Formula SAE, Solar Car, CubeSat, Rover Challenge, etc.)
• Experience with thermal analysis of electronic devices with FEA and CFD modeling
• Experience with high-precision 3D printing processes and design for complex systems
• Proficiency in frequent use of hand calculations, finite element analyses (FEA), and computer-aided designs (CAD)
• Ability to analyze and estimate structural loading from environmental sources
• Experience with fatigue and thermal testing of electro-mechanical assemblies
• Understanding and application of GD&T
• Understanding of Electrical Engineering fundamentals and design experience with simple circuits using op amps, ICs, and discrete components

Additional Requirements:

• Applicant must be available t