Summer 2027 Internship

Alba Orbital — Glasgow, Scotland

Alba Orbital designs, manufactures and operates small satellites and PocketQubes from our facility in Glasgow. Our spacecraft have flown on numerous missions, and we work across spacecraft design, electronics, software, manufacturing, integration, testing and mission operations.

We are looking for students interested in getting hands-on experience working on real spaceflight hardware as part of our Summer 2027 Internship Programme.

What you could work on

Depending on your background and our project requirements, you could contribute to areas including:

• Mechanical and spacecraft design
• CAD, drawings, tolerancing and design for manufacture
• Electronics and embedded systems
• Flight software and spacecraft avionics
• RF and communications
• Manufacturing, Procurement and workshop activities
• Assembly, integration and testing
• Environmental testing and test engineering
• Spacecraft systems engineering
• Information Technology/ IT help desk
• Engineering documentation and configuration control

This is intended to be a practical engineering internship. You won't simply be observing from the sidelines: interns will work alongside Alba engineers on defined projects and contribute to real engineering activities where appropriate.

Who we're looking for

We welcome applications from students studying subjects such as:

• Aerospace Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Electrical/Electronic Engineering
• Embedded Systems
• Computer Science / Software Engineering
• Physics
• Mechatronics
• Systems Engineering
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Other relevant technical disciplines

We are interested in people who enjoy building things, solving problems and figuring out how to make engineering work in practice.

You do not need previous space-industry experience. University projects, design teams, rocketry, CubeSat/PocketQube projects, electronics builds, machining, laboratory work or other practical engineering experience are all relevant.

University-funded internships

If your university or degree programme offers employer funding, wage reimbursement or other financial support for hosting an internship, please tell us about it in your application.

This might include university internship schemes, SME placement programmes, industrial-placement funding or similar arrangements.

Having access to university funding is not a requirement to apply, but it is useful for us to know because funding arrangements vary significantly between universities.

Please provide:

• The name of the university scheme
• Whether it reimburses the employer or provides funding in another form
• The amount or proportion funded, if known
• Any relevant eligibility requirements or deadlines

Internship details

Location: Glasgow, Scotland (Hillington)

Period: Summer 2027

Duration: We expect internships to be approximately 6–12 weeks, although this may vary depending on the candidate and university programme.

Working arrangement: Primarily on-site, due to the practical nature of much of our engineering work.

The exact dates will be agreed with successful candidates and their university where applicable.

To apply

Please submit your CV and a short explanation of:

• What you are studying and which year you will be in during Summer 2027
• The dates and duration you are available
• The engineering areas you are most interested in
• Any relevant practical projects, design teams, laboratory work or engineering experience
• Whether your university offers any employer funding or wage reimbursement for internships
• Your current UK right-to-work status

We are particularly interested in candidates who can show us something they have designed, built, tested, analysed or fixed.

Alba Orbital is an equal opportunity employer. We assess applicants based on their skills, experience and suitability for the role.

Pay: £13.50-£15.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Casual dress
• Employee mentoring programme
• Flexitime

Application question(s):

• Does your university or degree programme provide funding, wage reimbursement or a subsidy to employers hosting your internship?
• What dates are you available for a Summer 2027 internship, and how many weeks are you looking for?
• Do you have the right to work in the UK for the duration of the internship?

Work Location: In person