New Zealand Aerospace Summer Internships — Nov 2026 to Feb 2027

Spend your summer doing something extraordinary.

We’re offering a limited number of hands-on summer internship placements across our cutting-edge in-space propulsion and spaceplane programmes at our Christchurch office.

What you’ll do

If selected, you’ll be entrusted with real engineering challenges—either taking a project from concept through to completion, or contributing to critical parts of larger systems.

That means you will be:

• Researching, designing, building, testing, and validating systems or subsystems that matter
• Working closely with senior engineers and mentors
• Using real tools, real test facilities, and delivering real outcomes

Many of our interns have contributed to hardware that is now flying in space.

Past intern projects include

• Designing and testing reaction control engines
• Building support and test infrastructure
• Simulating spaceplane and satellite flight trajectories
• Developing satellite propulsion system components
• …and much more

Who we’re looking for

You’re currently studying (or have recently completed) a degree or trade in:

Aerospace, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Electrical, or Software Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, or a trade qualification

Not on this list but think you’re a strong fit? Apply anyway—we care more about what you can do than what your CV says.

Please ensure your application is submitted by 30 June 2026.

You should have:

• At least two years of study completed in a relevant degree, or be progressing through a trade qualification (postgraduate students welcome)
• Hands-on experience with complex systems—this could include aircraft, robotics, high-performance vehicles, marine systems, rockets, or similar
• A bias toward action: the ability to get things done quickly with limited resources and a creative mindset
• Strong teamwork and communication skills

What sets you apart

We’re looking for builders, hackers, tinkerers, athletes, and problem-solvers.

To stand out, show us:

• Real things you’ve built
• What made your project creative, clever, or bold
• Challenges you’ve overcome to achieve something meaningful—in sport, music, engineering, or elsewhere
• How you achieved it, especially when things didn’t go to plan

Personal projects, weekend builds, competitive sport, or creative work—we want to hear about it. Be specific. Be proud.

A note on applications

This is a serious application and will take time and thought to complete. Expect to spend around 2 hours preparing and submitting your application.

We use this process to ensure the internship is a strong fit both for you and for us.

Diversity & Inclusion

At Dawn Aerospace, we believe that diverse teams build better solutions. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences are valued and supported to do their best work.

About Dawn Aerospace

Dawn Aerospace is a space transportation company with a purpose.
Our mission is to enable the next generation of space users by providing more sustainable and scalable ways to access and move around in space. We believe this access, in the form of a transportation network, will fundamentally change what’s possible from space. We currently focus on three areas of space transportation:

• In-space propulsion
  We're a leading supplier of turnkey green propulsion systems for various classes of satellites. Our systems utilise safe, accessible propellants and we have over 170 of these propulsion units on more than 40 operational satellites already. A further 200 units are in production.
• In-space servicing
  Coupled with our propulsion expertise, we are ensuring that our customers' satellites are refuellable. In the coming years, Dawn will offer a refueling service to enable life extension of customer satellites. This new market is aligned with our sustainability goal to ensue a clean and safe space for everyone! 
• Spaceplane
  We are developing the fastest and highest-flying aircraft ever to take off from a runway, combining the extreme performance of rocket propulsion with the reusability of conventional airplanes to enable high-frequency, low-cost access to sub-orbital space.

Our international teams are distributed across four locations: the Netherlands, France, New Zealand, and the USA.

Apply for this Job

Important!

If you think you have what it takes but are unsure that you check every box, we still want to hear from you.

To all recruitment agencies: Dawn Aerospace does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our job’s alias, our employees, or any other company location. Dawn Aerospace will not be responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.