Mechanical Engineering Intern

About CoreKinect

CoreKinect is an engineering company that designs and manufactures rugged connected hardware for defense, public safety, industrial, and commercial customers. We develop products from concept through production by combining mechanical, electrical, embedded, cloud, and manufacturing engineering under one roof.

As a growing engineering company, our interns work on real products—not hypothetical projects. You'll work alongside experienced engineers, build practical solutions, and see your work implemented on the manufacturing floor.

Position Overview

We're looking for a Mechanical Engineering Intern to join our engineering team and help manufacturing make assembly faster, easier, and more repeatable. You'll design and deliver the fixtures and guides our manufacturing team uses owning projects from concept and CAD through fabrication and real-world use.

This role sits between design and the production floor: you'll see your parts get made, put them in someone's hands, and iterate based on what actually works. It's ideal for someone who likes designing things that get built fast and wants real ownership over tangible projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Work with our manufacturing team to design and build the fixtures and guides used during assembly.
• Produce dimensioned engineering drawings and bills of materials (BOMs) for the parts that get fabricated.
• Source the hardware and estimate fabrication and material costs for the fixtures you design.
• Prototype and test designs using 3D printing and machining, iterating based on feedback from the team.
• Inspect and validate finished fixtures against requirements before handing them off to the manufacturing team.
• Partner with our manufacturing team to understand assembly pain points and improve ergonomics, repeatability, and throughput.
• Document your designs and organize them into a reusable library that can be updated over time.
• Support continuous improvement efforts across the assembly process.

Required Qualifications

• Pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
• Experience with parametric design software (e.g., Fusion 360, SolidWorks, Onshape, Creo).
• Familiarity with fasteners and assembly hardware.
• Familiarity with 3D-printing workflows and slicer software (e.g., PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer).
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings.
• Self-directed and comfortable with ambiguity; able to take a loosely defined problem and run with it.
• Strong communication skills and comfort working hands-on alongside our manufacturing team.
• U.S. Citizenship required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Fusion 360 experience.
• Proficiency with parametric modeling.
• Familiarity with Design for Manufacturing (DFM) principles.
• Basic tolerance analysis.
• Hands-on shop skills—comfortable using equipment like a drill press, bandsaw, and deburring tools.
• Exposure to fabrication processes (CNC machining, sheet metal).
• Understanding of fixturing fundamentals—locating, clamping, and designing for repeatability.
• Prior hands-on project experience (maker builds, Formula SAE/Baja, robotics, machine-shop work, personal projects).

What Success Looks Like

A successful intern ramps up quickly on our CAD standards and assembly processes, gets comfortable working alongside the manufacturing team, and starts turning around fixture and guide designs the team can build from with minimal rework.

By the end of the internship, you've independently designed, fabricated, and deployed multiple fixtures or guides that are actively in use on the floor and measurably improve assembly speed, quality, or ergonomics—and you can clearly explain the design decisions behind each one.

Why Join CoreKinect?

Work on meaningful engineering projects with real-world impact.

Gain hands-on experience from concept through fabrication and deployment.

Collaborate directly with experienced engineers and manufacturing professionals.

See your designs implemented and used in production.

Build practical engineering experience that extends beyond the classroom.

Develop skills in product design, manufacturing, prototyping, and continuous improvement.

Benefits

This internship is not benefits eligible.

Work Environment

This is an on-site position based in Chandler, Arizona. The role combines engineering design with hands-on collaboration on the manufacturing floor, offering exposure to the complete product development and manufacturing process.

Equal Opportunity Employer

CoreKinect is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.