Mechanical Aerospace Engineer
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineer
Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division
Dahlgren, Virginia
Internship Opportunities
Apply engineering principles to advanced systems that must perform in demanding real-world environments.
The Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division is seeking mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and related majors for potential student internship and entry-level civilian opportunities. Our engineers support the design, analysis, integration, and testing of missiles, launchers, hypersonic vehicles, directed-energy systems, shipboard equipment, unmanned platforms, and other advanced technologies.
Depending on your placement, you could create a design, develop an analytical model, build or evaluate a prototype, support a test event, or analyze how a system performs under different operational conditions.
Potential responsibilities may include:
- Supporting mechanical design and development using CAD tools
- Conducting structural, thermal, fluid, aerodynamic, or materials analysis
- Supporting missile, launcher, weapon, or shipboard-system integration
- Developing prototypes, test fixtures, and experimental equipment
- Performing finite element analysis or computational fluid dynamics
- Evaluating propulsion, flight dynamics, trajectories, or system performance
- Planning and supporting laboratory, range, or field testing
- Collecting and analyzing test data
- Investigating failures and recommending engineering solutions
- Preparing technical drawings, reports, and presentations
We are interested in candidates studying:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Aerospace Engineering
- Engineering Mechanics
- Naval Architecture
- Ocean Engineering
- Materials Engineering
- Related engineering disciplines
Helpful experience may include coursework or projects involving CAD, SolidWorks, Creo, ANSYS, finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics, MATLAB, Python, thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, controls, propulsion, structural mechanics, materials, or hands-on fabrication.
Why Dahlgren?
Mechanical and aerospace engineers at Dahlgren work with multidisciplinary teams and advanced technology throughout the engineering lifecycle. Students and new graduates may gain experience in design, analysis, prototyping, integration, and testing while contributing to projects with direct mission impact.
Basic eligibility:
- Current student or recent graduate in a relevant engineering program
- Strong foundation in engineering principles
- Analytical, problem-solving, and technical communication skills
- Ability to work in laboratory, office, or test environments as required
- U.S. citizenship
- Ability to obtain and maintain the security clearance required for the position