Mass Properties Intern

Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose, California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing, manufacturing, and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise.

Our sights are set high and our problems are hard, and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter, drives better insights, and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences, and supports and celebrates all of our team members.

This internship is a part of a 10-week full-time summer internship program opportunity. This role will be based at Archer’s headquarters in San Jose, California and relocation or housing will not be provided.

Archer is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented intern to join Archer. This internship provides a hands-on opportunity to gain practical experience within the Mass Properties team. Responsibilities support aircraft weight, center of gravity, and inertia modeling across design, build, and test. You will collaborate with design, manufacturing, and flight test teams to retire mass properties risks, improve data quality and traceability, and identify weight-saving opportunities that protect performance and safety margins.

What You’ll Do:

• Build and maintain component and system-level mass properties estimates (weight, CG, and inertia) using CAD, supplier data, and measured weights.
• Support configuration-controlled weight tracking by reconciling changes versus baseline and clearly communicating deltas, drivers, and risk areas.
• Assist with part/subassembly weighing activities including setup planning, scale selection/checks, data collection, and documentation for traceability.
• Perform first-principles calculations (moments, coordinate transforms, inertia approximations) and sanity checks to validate mass properties inputs and outputs.
• Develop and improve spreadsheets, dashboards, or scripts (Excel, Python, MATLAB) to automate data ingestion, reporting, and quality checks.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to close data gaps, resolve discrepancies, and support design reviews; identify weight risk and weight-saving opportunities.

What You Need:

• Currently pursuing a B.S. or M.S. in Aerospace, Mechanical, or a related engineering discipline (returning to school after the internship).
• Familiarity with mass properties fundamentals (weight, center of gravity, moments, inertia) and strong comfort with units and coordinate systems.
• Proficiency with Excel for engineering analysis (formulas, data organization, plotting); experience with Python and/or MATLAB is a plus.
• Experience with or exposure to CAD tools (e.g., CATIA, NX, Creo, SolidWorks) and the ability to interpret models/drawings and BOMs.
• Strong attention to detail and a data-driven mindset; able to maintain traceable records and catch inconsistencies.
• Self-motivated and able to make progress with ambiguity; communicates clearly and collaborates well with cross-functional technical teams.

 

Summer 2026 Internship Program Details:

• This internship is a part of a 10-week full-time summer internship program opportunity. Program dates are:
  • May 26, 2026 - July 31, 2026
  • June 15, 2026 - August 21, 2026
    • *We will not be able to accommodate interns outside of these two program dates.
• This role will be based at Archer in San Jose, CA
• Relocation and housing will not be provided.

Please note that this job description is intended to provide a general overview of the position and does not include an exhaustive list of responsibilities and qualifications.

At Archer we aim to attract, retain, and motivate talent that possess the skills and leadership necessary to grow our business. We drive a pay-for-performance culture and reward performance that supports the Company’s business strategy. For this position we are targeting a base pay between $25.00 - $35.00 per hour. Actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Archer is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to job applicants with physical or mental disabilities, and those with sincerely held religious beliefs. Applicants who may require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should provide their name and contact information to Archer’s People Team at people@archer.com. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Information collected and processed as part of any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Archer's Candidate Privacy Policy.

Archer is unable to provide work visa sponsorship for this position at the present time.

Archer is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. All aspects of employment are decided on the basis of merit, qualifications, and business needs. We do not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Archer Aviation does not engage with external recruiting agencies/individual recruiters with whom it does not have a prior written agreement. Archer reserves the right to make use of any unsolicited resumes that it receives and bears no responsibility for payment of any fees asserted from the use of unsolicited resumes. If you are a recruiting agency or individual recruiter wishing to do business with Archer, please reach out to People@archer.com. All employment processes are managed by the Archer People Team.