Intern - Device Build

Job description

Navi captures everything a pilot sees and hears and turns it into automated debrief intelligence — sortie-level awareness that has never existed before. None of it works without the hardware in the aircraft. That's what you'll build. # About the role This is a hands-on hardware internship. You'll build, test, and ship the devices that fly in real aircraft at university flight schools and military squadrons. Every unit you assemble ends up in a cockpit, capturing data a pilot and instructor will sit down and review that same day. Nothing here is a prototype exercise. Navi is already live at leading flight schools. You'll work directly with our hardware and engineering teams, and you'll see the consequences of your work fast — if a unit fails, you'll hear about it, and you'll be part of fixing it. # What you'll do - Assemble, wire, and bench-test Navi devices — audio capture, mounting hardware, cable harnesses, enclosures - Diagnose failures on returned or field-reported units and feed what you learn back into the build - Help improve the build itself — fixturing, assembly documentation, anything that makes the next hundred units faster and more reliable than the last hundred - Track inventory, components, and BOMs so we never stall a deployment waiting on a part - Assist in preparing shipments, and willing to learn and assist in other tasks too - Work alongside engineers across hardware, firmware, and software to close the loop between what we build and what pilots actually experience # About you - Currently pursuing a degree in engineering, or equivalent hands-on experience — we care more about what you've built than where you're enrolled - Comfortable with hand tools, wiring and basic electronics debugging - Careful and consistent. Hardware that flies has to be built the same way every time, and you take that seriously - You've built physical things — personal projects, robotics teams, Formula SAE, RC aircraft, drones, a workshop in your garage. Tell us about them - Willing to do the unglamorous work. Some days are assembly and testing, and those units still have to be perfect - Curious about why things fail and persistent enough to find out - Comfortable in ambiguity — processes here are still being written, and you'll help write them # Nice to have - **You know how to fly.** A private pilot certificate, student pilot time, or any flight training is a real bonus. Pilots understand the cockpit environment these devices live in, and we'll lean on you for more than device build — flight testing, data collection, ride-alongs, and translating what actually happens in the aircraft back to the engineering team - Familiarity with aviation systems, avionics, or general aviation aircraft - CAD, 3D printing, or fabrication experience - Basic scripting for test automation or data validation # Why this role matters Pilots trust their lives to the systems in front of them. The device you build is the first link in that chain — if it doesn't capture clean data, nothing downstream works. Interns here own real units going to real customers, not side projects. # What you'll get - Hardware that ships — your work flies in aircraft at flight schools, airlines, and the U.S. Air Force - Direct access to the founding team and every part of the stack, from hardware to AI - A path to a full-time role for interns who prove they can own the build # How we work - **Find a way.** We don't wait for permission or perfect information. Ideas come from anywhere regardless of title. Figure it out, ship it, iterate. - **Creativity over control.** First principles over process. We'd rather have a creative solution that's 80% right today than a perfect one next quarter. - **Update fast.** Come in with a hypothesis, throw it away when the data says otherwise. Ego has no place here. - **Intensity with focus.** We work hard because the mission demands it. Clarity on what matters is how we make that sustainable.