The board
Internship
Engineering
Intern, Software Engineering, 2027
Cowboy Space · Software Engineering
- Where
- San Carlos, California
- Posted
- Sep 21
Mission
Cowboy Space Corporation is solving the global energy crisis by building the infrastructure for abundant, resilient space-based solar energy. We are tackling one of humanity's most complex engineering challenges with a world-class team dedicated to delivering a revolutionary power platform. Cowboy Space Corporation is transforming how civilization powers, computes and connects - from orbit to Earth.
Background
Cowboy Space Corporation is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our modular, scalable satellites collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit to enable multiple integrated applications: transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit high-performance computing clusters (GPU/TPU), and providing secure, high bandwidth optical data transport.
Current energy and data systems rely on complex logistics an…
What you'd do
- Design, development, and testing of software across flight, embedded, and ground systems, including avionics, guidance/navigation/control, and satellite bus/payload software
- Build and maintain software for signal processing, RF/optical communication pipelines, and on-orbit compute infrastructure (GPU/TPU clusters)
- Develop tooling and services for mission operations, telemetry/command infrastructure, and satellite health monitoring
- Write, test, and debug code across the stack — from low-level embedded/real-time systems to higher-level ground and data systems
- Collaborate with hardware, electrical, and systems engineering teams to define interfaces, debug integration issues, and validate end-to-end system behavior
- Build simulation, test, and hardware-in-the-loop frameworks to validate software against spacecraft requirements
- Participate in code reviews, write technical documentation, and contribute to engineering best practices as the team and codebase scale
- Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks
What they want
- Currently enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related STEM field
- Strong fundamentals in software engineering: data structures, algorithms, and computer architecture
- Proficiency in at least one systems or general-purpose programming language (C, C++, Python, or similar)
- Collaborative, self-directed work style; comfort with ambiguity and learning quickly
- Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S.
- Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S.
- Department of State.
- Learn more about ITAR here.