Our Internships at Aurora

Joe Lisee – University of Maryland

I really like learning what it’s like to work at a real Engineering Company and being able to participate in Design Reviews. It was the coolest to see how it all worked.

Brandon Suarez – MIT

I came into the summer not really knowing what projects I would be working on, but wanting to gain experience at a “small” company while doing useful projects. Both objectives were fulfilled as I ended the summer with tangible deliverables and a great impression of the office.

The majority of my summer was spent on an R&D project. We began the summer with a few foam models of a UAV aircraft and a few hours of lab test video, by the end of the summer we had a pre-production flight capable aircraft, several hours of tactical indoor and outdoor footage, a production video highlighting the capabilities of the aircraft, and an enhanced knowledge of handling qualities and military utility. Building a preproduction model required a significant amount of work with composites and the 3-D printer in Aurora’s lab.

Overall, I had a very enriching summer experience and I look forward to continuing my work into the school year with Aurora. It was great to get a sense of the operations of a small company and everyone was exceptionally friendly and helpful.

Interns from the Cambridge, MA Research & Development office and the Manassas, VA headquarters tour Aurora’s West Virginia manufacturing facility.

Fritz Langford – Carnegie Mellon University

I was included as a member of my team. Sitting in the hangar with other team members helped me feel included.

I was impressed with the speed with which projects advance at Aurora. Though I was only here for a little over 2 months, I saw incredible progress on multiple projects, and was particularly impressed with the short lead time between design and manufacturing.

Carlos Arango-Giersberg - Cornell University

I was very satisfied, almost overwhelmed by how easily the team accepted me as a member rather than just an “intern”. My opinion was requested in matters relevant to my assignments, and I was given enough freedom to make decisions and take responsibility for them.

I was impressed with the closeness and openness between Aurora employees, from technicians all the way to the VPs and President. It was surprising to find management talking about and asking for opinions on projects and plans so openly with all levels of employees, giving the impression that everyone respects everyone else’s role within the company (there are no grunts).

Aurora interns supported Habitat for Humanity by helping to rebuild a home in disrepair.

Nikolai Vozza - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

I was most impressed by the willingness of every engineer to take time to explain what their project was and what they were doing.

Patricia Reynolds – Boston University

I was most impressed by the workplace atmosphere and extent to which I was allowed to be involved in group projects. I had thought my contribution would be minimal and “busy-work” but this was budgets, and testing. I also gained experience with various design programs and tooling machines (matlab, solid works).

Tina Srivastava – MIT

As an intern at Aurora Flight Sciences, I worked on cutting-edge technology with people who are passionate about what they do. Everyone is willing to answer my questions as well as value what I bring.

Interns enjoyed a day of teambuilding during a Whitewater rafting trip in Pennsylvania.