2026 Remote Sensing Architecture Performance Graduate Intern

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space— delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space.

The Enterprise Effects Division (EED) drives integration of Aerospace’s strategic capabilities across the national space enterprise. The division leverages a broad array of engineering disciplines against a dynamic portfolio of programs, customers, and national challenges. EED spans the capability lifecycle from concept and architecture design to performance assessment to application of space and space-enabled capabilities. 

As an intern with the Surveillance and Navigation Architecture Performance Department, you will directly contribute to technical capabilities that support our customers through modeling, simulation, and analysis (MS&A) to perform requirements verification, analyses-of-alternatives (AoA), and performance evaluation for space-based remote sensing architectures. Our interns work as part of a team on multiple projects with project mentors, full time staff, and other interns to apply existing skills and expand their MS&A knowledge. We support a variety of customers with expansive program portfolios, and we are looking for curious and innovative teammates to help us address our customers’ hardest problems!

This position will be onsite at either our El Segundo, CA, Chantilly, VA, or Colorado Springs, CO offices.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Gaining knowledge and experience in one of these specific national security space or intelligence mission areas: geo-spatial intelligence, signals intelligence, space surveillance, navigation systems, space protection, and/or communications infrastructure supporting defense or intelligence capabilities.

• Provide analysis to support recommendations for research, development, and acquisition decisions of legacy and emerging customer space-based sensing architectures.

• Perform architecture evaluation modeling overall performance using in-house or custom-developed analysis tools.

• Work closely with staff, management, and a team to translate customer needs into project objectives and provide technical evaluations.

• Develop and present timely and technically-accurate presentations and reports that clearly communicate analysis results and provide recommended solutions to technical leads, management, and customers.

• Aid in sustainment, development, and growth of the organization’s analysis and simulation capabilities to support functional areas for our customer base.

What Corporate Skills You’ll Bring 

• Strong written and oral communication skills 

• Must work well in a team environment 

• Possess organizational, time management and project management skills 

• Demonstrate flexibility and ability to adapt to changing organizational need 

• Interpersonal skills to coordinate efforts and work with other internal and external organizations 

What You Need to be Successful

Minimum Requirements: 

• Accepted or currently enrolled full-time in an accredited college/university program pursuing a Master's or Ph.D. degree in aerospace engineering, physics, operations research, mathematics, or a related field

• Availability to work full-time for a minimum of 10 weeks outside of university term and ability to return to a degree program full-time after completion of the internship.

• Familiarity with astrodynamics or space operations.

• A history that shows personal accountability, a desire to learn, and an ability to manage several simultaneous tasks.

• Familiarity with one or more software languages that may include Python, C++, or MATLAB.

• This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance, which is issued by the US government. U.S citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance. 

• Transcripts required 

​How You Can Stand Out
It would be impressive if you have one or more of these:

• Previous exposure in one or more of the functional/mission areas listed above.

• Academic background in systems engineering, modeling &