---
title: 'Mechanical Engineering Intern (Spring 2027) at Freeform'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineering-intern-spring-2027-freeform-los-angeles-vyt1gep498wt'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-12'
---

# Mechanical Engineering Intern (Spring 2027) at Freeform

- **Company:** Freeform
- **Location:** Los Angeles, CA
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-08-24
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/freeformfuturecorp/jobs/7921114003

## Job description

## MECHANICAL ENGINEERING INTERN (SPRING 2027)

Freeform is deploying software-defined, autonomous metal 3D printing factories around the world, bringing the scalability of software to physical production. Our proprietary technology stack leverages advanced sensing, real-time controls, and data-driven learning to produce digitally verified, flawless parts at unprecedented speed and cost. Our mission is to make the transformative power of 3D printing available to all industries at scale and unlock the future of innovation.

As a Mechanical Engineering Intern at Freeform, you will contribute to the design, development, and deployment of cutting-edge, clean-sheet systems that push the boundaries of additive manufacturing, automation, and factory-scale integration. You’ll work with a talented engineering team from some of the world’s most innovative companies across a range of projects from mechanical design and prototyping to testing and integration - gaining hands-on experience in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment. This includes working on complex mechanical assemblies, precision motion systems, and high-performance thermal and fluid subsystems. You’ll collaborate with electrical and software engineers to help integrate subsystems into cohesive, production-ready platforms.

3D printing experience is not required to be successful here - we look for smart, motivated, collaborative engineers who love solving hard problems and creating amazing technology!

Responsibilities:

- Own a cradle to grave project that delivers meaningful impact to critical print factory capabilities
- Contribute to the design, build, prototyping, and testing of mechanical components, subassemblies, and systems
- Assist with tolerance analysis and mechanical feasibility studies
- Participate in hands-on builds, integration, and validation of mechanical systems
- Collaborate with senior engineers to improve system performance, reliability, and manufacturability

Basic Qualifications:

- Currently enrolled in a bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering from an ABET accredited university or college
- Hands on design experience from internships or engineering clubs such as FSAE, Baja SAE, solar car, rocket club, robotics club, or similar
- Strong grasp of mechanical engineering fundamentals and comfortable taking a first-principles approach to solving problems

Nice to Have:

- Advanced degree (Master's, PhD) in mechanical or aerospace engineering
- Knowledge of motion control and kinematics
- Experience with design of fluid or thermal systems
- Working knowledge of electromechanical systems
- Passion for improving the state of metal 3D printing
- Comfortable working in fast-paced, ambiguous environments and iterating quickly (comfortable building the plane as we fly it)
- Strong communicator who collaborates across disciplines and proactively seeks support when needed
- Willing to take ownership of tasks big and small, with a hands-on, problem-solving mindset
- Strong work ethic with a refuse-to-fail mindset
- Demonstrated indicators of excellence and/or achieving success against adversity (i.e. top academic performance, leadership in engineering clubs, first-generation college student, or other examples of resilience and achievement)

Location:

- We are located in Hawthorne, CA in a 35,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility featuring large open spaces for team collaboration, R&D, and production, as well as easy access to the 405, 105, and 110 freeways. Our facility is in the heart of Los Angeles' vibrant emerging tech ecosystem alongside many other high growth startups and enterprises.

What We Offer:

- We have an inclusive and diverse culture that values collaboration, learning, and making deliberate data-driven decisions
- We offer a unique opportunity to be an early and integral member of a rapidly growing company that is scaling a world-changing technology
- Compensation and Benefits
- The compensation for this role:
- Engineering Intern/Undergraduate: $30/hour
- Engineering Intern/Masters: $32.50/hour
- Engineering Intern/PhD: $35/hour
- Relocation assistance provided
- Free daily catered lunch and dinner, and fully stocked kitchenette
- Casual dress, flexible work hours, and regular catered team building events
- Freeform is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values diversity; employment with Freeform is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

## About Freeform

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Freeform builds the world’s first AI-native manufacturing system – autonomous factories that use advanced sensing, compute, and machine learning to 3D-print industrial-grade metal parts at unprecedented speed and scale.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B, raised $67M in Feb 2026)
- **Headquarters**: Hawthorne, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: Erik Palitsch (CEO), Thomas J. Ronacher (President & Co-Founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Industrial Automation, Additive Manufacturing (Metal 3D Printing), Physical AI
- **Target customers**: B2B, primarily serving mission-critical industries: Aerospace & Defense, Aviation, Automotive, Advanced Energy, Consumer Electronics, Robotics, and Motor Sports.
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “To radically change the way things are made” and “unlock advanced manufacturing for every industry” by treating manufacturing as a single, integrated AI-native system.

## Products & Services
For each major offering:
- **AI-Native Manufacturing System**: A fully integrated, software-defined network of autonomous factories. This system uses proprietary compute, sensors, controls, and ML to sense, learn, predict, and control metal formation in real-time. It unifies hardware and software to produce industrial-scale parts from prototype to full production, all under one roof.
- **Physical AI Stack**: The company built its own technology stack (compute, sensors, controls, software) to enable a new method of metal 3D printing that is faster, more predictable, and cost-effective than traditional methods.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue: $4.5M (LinkedIn estimate); Total Funding: $126M
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: NVIDIA (NVentures), AE Industrial Ventures (AE Ventures), Two Sigma Ventures, Founders Fund, Threshold Ventures, 8VC, Linse Capital, Valor.
- **Growth Signals**:
    - Raised $67M Series B in February 2026 to scale up laser AI manufacturing.
    - Named to Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2026.”
    - 48 active job postings as of mid-2026, with year-over-year hiring growth of +81.5%.
    - Headcount growth of 9.4% year-over-year (approximately 50 employees).
    - Key hires from SpaceX, Tesla, Apple, Google, Velo3D.

## Competitive Advantages
- **First-principles technology**: The company built all technology from scratch (compute, sensors, controls, ML stack) because the necessary tech didn't exist. This creates a deep technical moat.
- **AI-native, not AI-applied**: Their system is designed from the ground up to be autonomous, learning, and predictive, unlike traditional manufacturing methods that apply AI as an afterthought.
- **Proven leadership**: Founded and led by ex-SpaceX engineers (Erik Palitsch was Principal Architect of the Starship Vehicle and led the Merlin & Raptor engine programs) and a Chief Scientific Officer with deep experience in additive manufacturing (Tasso Lappas, former CTO at Velo3D).
- **Speed and scale**: Promises the ability to go from prototype to full-scale production faster than any competitor, enabling a "death of slow speeds and unpredictable systems."

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale up operations**: The primary focus of the $67M Series B is to scale the technology and expand production capacity.
- **Industry expansion**: Targeting a wide range of industries including aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, and consumer electronics.
- **Talent acquisition**: Aggressively hiring top-tier cross-disciplinary talent (MechE, Electrical, Software, ML/AI, Process, and Engineering leadership) to build out the team.
- **Product innovation**: Continuing to push the boundaries of speed, quality, and scale in metal additive manufacturing.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as a team of "first-principles thinkers" with "low ego" and a "healthy sense of humor." The company emphasizes working on "hard problems" and is driven by a mission to fundamentally change manufacturing.
- **Working policy**: Fully on-site in Los Angeles, CA (Hawthorne). This is a shop-floor and lab-heavy environment, ideal for those who want to be hands-on with hardware.
- **Compensation & Equity**: Offers competitive compensation and pre-IPO shares, meaning all employees are shareholders in the company’s success.
- **Notable Perks & Engineering Culture**: Opportunity to work with some of the most advanced manufacturing technology in the world (lasers, robotics, ML). The environment is described as high-trust, high-impact, and cross-disciplinary. The company encourages applications even if there is no exact role listed, signaling a flexible and growth-oriented culture.
- **Talent density**: The team includes top talent from SpaceX, Apple, Google, Tesla, Velo3D, and other leading tech and manufacturing companies.

## Sources
1. [freeform.co](https://freeform.co/)
2. [Freeform Careers](https://freeform.co/careers)
3. [Freeform Company Page](https://freeform.co/company)
4. [Freeform Greenhouse Job Board](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/freeformfuturecorp)
5. [LinkedIn - Freeform](https://www.linkedin.com/company/freeformfuture)
6. [TechCrunch - $67M Series B](https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/19/freeform-raises-67m-series-b-to-scale-up-laser-ai-manufacturing/)
7. [TechCrunch - $14M Venture Round](https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/22/ex-spacex-engineers-land-14m-to-scale-new-method-for-3d-printing-metal/)

## Other roles at Freeform

- [Principal Machine Learning Researcher (Physical AI)](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-machine-learning-researcher-physical-ai-freeform-los-angeles-663pzmgqpzjm) — Los Angeles, CA
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