Instrumentation Engineer - Internship (Summer 2027)

The posting, as Nominal wrote it

About Nominal

Engineers today are building some of the most ambitious machines humanity has ever seen. They should have AI that’s purpose-built for them.

Nominal is building the Hardware Intelligence Platform that gives engineers increased visibility into complex physical systems, helps them make better decisions, and ultimately gets their products into the real world faster. It brings together the systems, data, intelligence, and applications hardware engineering requires to meet the AI moment. Hardware engineering teams use Nominal to simulate, test, manufacture, and operate the physical systems that keep the world moving, from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation energy systems and robotics.

Our customers span aerospace, defense, manufacturing, transportation, energy, and robotics. They include Anduril, Shield AI, Wisk Aero, Pratt Miller Motorsports, Antares, and Shinkei Systems, amongst others, alongside programs within the U.S. Air Force and Navy. Our team draws from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, Tesla, and other leading companies, united by a common mission: giving hardware engineers the tools to build the future with speed, safety, and confidence. We're a fast-moving team that owns problems end-to-end, works across disciplines, and thrives at the intersection of hardware and software.

Some of the world’s leading technology investors, including Sequoia, Lightspeed, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, and Insight Partners, are backing Nominal’s ambition to change how machines are built and operated. We’re looking for engineers who want to take on hard problems and help make a new generation of world-changing hardware possible.

The role

We're looking for students with solid engineering fundamentals who are interested in a 12-week Summer 2027 internship and on track to graduate in Summer 2028 or sooner.

As an Instrumentation intern at Nominal, you'll work at the boundary between software and physical test hardware, helping integrate Nominal solutions in real test stands, hardware instrumentation stacks, and live control systems. You'll write code that talks directly to hardware in the field, whether that's a test stand, a clean room, or an industrial setup, and see your work show up in customer test campaigns within weeks.

🚀 What you'll do

• Write reliable and performant Python and/or Rust-based software to interface with customer hardware using PyVISA, broad-base industrial protocols, and proprietary vendor SDKs (NI-DAQmx, LabJack, Dewesoft), etc.
• Help automate data collection and control processes across hardware test environments
• Contribute new drivers and instruments to our open-source instrumentation library (instro)
• Work shoulder-to-shoulder with engineers on-site to get test setups running and troubleshoot hardware-software integrations live
• Take ownership of a scoped hardware ↔ software integration project from start to finish, with mentorship from our instrumentation and product teams

🎯 Reach out if…

• You're on track to graduate by Summer 2028 and are open to a full-time role afterward
• You've worked hands-on with data acquisition systems, test instruments (power supplies, eLoads, DMMs, oscilloscopes), embedded hardware, or industrial controllers, whether through coursework, research, or a team like solar car, formula racing, or robotics
• You have strong Python and/or Rust fundamentals, are comfortable reading hardware manuals and communication protocol specs, and have prior experience contributing to open source or building hardware abstraction layers
• You have strong interest in developing software that dictates how high-impact electro-mechanical systems behave in the real world
• Your peers would describe you as ambitious, resourceful, resilient, and persistent when something isn't working

✨ Benefits/Perks

• Receive mentorship from our world-class team
• Trips to co-locate with the team across our different offices
• Free lunch, dinner, snacks, and drinks
• A beginning-of-internship swag bag and an end-of-internship intern gift
• In-office hardware lab with a $250 project stipend

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

ITAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here .