Mechanical Engineer Intern (Summer 2027)

The future of defense will be decided by those who field intelligent machines at scale. At Scout, we’re developing Fury, the first robotic foundation model for defense, to give U.S. forces overwhelming, adaptable, and autonomous power across every domain. Fury enables human operators to command fleets of robots through natural language, and empowers those machines to sense, decide, and act together as one. It’s not just a leap in autonomy, it’s a force multiplier built for real-world conflict. This mission will ask everything of us: urgency, precision, and relentless work.

The Role

We’re seeking a Mechanical Engineer Intern for Summer 2027 who is passionate about robotics, hardware, and building machines that hold up in the field. You'll work alongside our hardware and robotics engineers to design, build, and validate the mechanical systems that carry Fury onto real platforms, from vehicle testbeds to ruggedized compute enclosures and field-ready payload integrations. Your work will run on robots in demanding, adversarial environments. Expect to move fast, iterate on real systems, and see your designs tested outside the lab.

This 10-week internship is ideal for students looking to apply their engineering skills to high-stakes, real-world applications. You’ll gain exposure to the full hardware development loop, from napkin sketch to prototype to environmental testing, and work on systems that operate in real world conditions.

What You’ll Do

- Support the design, build, and deployment of mechanical and electromechanical systems across Scout’s robotic platforms

- Design and prototype rugged enclosures, brackets, mounts, and payload interfaces in 3D CAD

- Help with component selection and integration for compute modules, communication devices, networking components, and sensors

- Develop test fixtures and support hardware testing, including wiring, environmental sealing, and system validation

- Integrate hardware with electrical and software systems in field-ready robotic platforms

- Collaborate with mentors, mission operations, and the software and autonomy teams to turn field feedback into design improvements

- Troubleshoot hardware in the shop and in the field

- Author documentation for test plans, validation results, integration procedures, and hardware specs

- Support field trials and mission operations to validate hardware performance under real-world constraints

Qualifications

- Currently pursuing a BS, MS, or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, or a related field

- Strong 3D CAD skills (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Onshape, or similar)

- Solid grounding in engineering fundamentals such as statics, materials, thermal, and tolerancing

- Hands-on experience building, fabricating, or testing hardware through coursework, a robotics or competition team, or personal projects

- Comfortable navigating open-ended problems and proposing practical solutions

- Strong communication and documentation skills

- Bonus: Experience with ruggedized electronics, enclosure design, or environmental testing (thermal, shock and vibe, ingress protection)

- Bonus: Experience with FEA or thermal simulation, or with ground, maritime, or aerial robotic platforms

- Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities

Why Join Scout

- Work on the world’s most important frontier, ensuring U.S. and allied dominance in the age of intelligent machines

- Be a core part of a team building the first defense-specific robotic foundation model

- Collaborate with some of the top engineers in autonomy, AI, and national security

- See your work deployed on real systems

- Help define the future of intelligent defense systems

- Backed by Draper Associates, Booz Allen Ventures, and other top investors

Benefits

- Competitive Cash Compensation

- Company holiday calendar

- Catered lunch daily and fully stocked kitchen

- EV charging

- Housing stipend assistance (depending on role eligibility)