LIGO Engineering Intern

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Job Summary

LIGO Laboratory (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) seeks a highly motivated and skilled Engineering Intern to join its team.

This position is in-person located on the Caltech campus in Pasadena, California and offers students up to 10 hours per week year-round to learn from our team of engineering experts. Hours are more flexible over the summer.

LIGO Laboratory is a National Science Foundation major facility dedicated to observing the newly discovered gravitational-wave universe. Jointly operated by the California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the LIGO Laboratory operates world-leading observatories near Richland, WA, and Baton Rouge, LA as well as R&D centers on the Caltech and MIT campuses. The LIGO Laboratory’s mission spans a broad and vibrant array of activities related to gravitational-wave physics and astronomy, including detector operations, R&D toward detector improvements, gravitational-wave astrophysics, observatory operations, and education and public outreach.

For more information, please visit the Laboratory website: www.ligo.caltech.edu

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Essential Job Duties

• The intern will work on the engineering of experiments for Advanced LIGO.
• Support design and assembly of experiment.
• Problem-solve issues with the running of the experiment.
• Help to set up experiments and carry out measurements.
• Carry out analysis and interpretation of results.
• Organize and document data and write up analysis and conclusions from.
• The intern will work with senior staff to provide technical support for other engineering and science projects at LIGO as needed.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Basic Qualifications

• Currently enrolled as an undergraduate student in an Engineering or Science related field or graduated in the past year.
• Ability to work in-person at Caltech campus for 10 hours per week.
• Basic knowledge of office productivity software's (spreadsheet, presentation, and word processing).
• Good interpersonal communication skills.
• Good problem resolution skills.
• Ability to work in laboratories and wear safety equipment (laser and safety glasses).
• Must have the ability to travel to Caltech during school semester and in the summer.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with hand tools.
• Experience with scientific computation (MATLAB, python, etc.).

Required Documents

• Resume
• Cover Letter