Who can apply?
- Applicants must be enrolled in a bachelor's, master's or doctorate program in engineering, physics or mathematics and have at least one semester of school remaining after the internship.
- The role requires a GPA of at least 3.0 and at least three months of applied engineering experience. Rocket Lab explicitly says internship, laboratory and personal or team project experience can satisfy the experience category.
- The internship is full-time and on site for at least twelve consecutive weeks beginning in May or June 2027. US space-technology export rules apply; the official posting describes qualifying US-person categories and the possibility of required government authorization.
Rocket Lab's general internship page covers multiple countries. This Long Beach role has its own $28 rate, remaining-semester rule, experience requirement and US export-control terms; do not apply those facts to every Rocket Lab internship.
Dates, pay & program timing
The live role is scheduled for at least twelve consecutive weeks beginning in May or June 2027. Rocket Lab lists no application deadline on the reviewed posting. It publishes a $28 hourly California rate and says a relocation stipend may be available, subject to its stated terms.
View the deadline calendarThese details reflect the sources at the review date. An overview is not a live job offer. Check the official page for today's application status and the selected opening's written terms.
How to apply to Rocket Lab
- Confirm your degree, 3.0 GPA, remaining semester, applied-experience evidence, twelve-week availability and export-control eligibility against the current job page.
- Build a resume section around one hands-on engineering project. Identify the material or component, manufacturing or test process, tolerance or failure mode, your individual contribution and the result you measured.
- Apply through the official Rocket Lab posting while it remains live and save job reference 5881524003. No deadline is published, so use an earlier personal target rather than assuming a full-season window.
You leave FirstInternships to apply. We do not accept applications, offer referrals, or represent the employer.
Our editorial advice · not employer requirements
How to prepare a stronger application
Additive manufacturing is not only 3D-printing vocabulary. Prepare to explain design for manufacturability, material behavior, process parameters, post-processing, inspection and how a defect would affect a rocket-engine component. Be honest if your experience is polymer rather than metal and connect only the transferable principles.
The posting values applied work from laboratories and personal or team projects. Choose an example where something did not meet a requirement, then show how you isolated the cause, changed the design or process and verified the revision. State exactly which decisions were yours within a team.
Your preparation, on this device
Make it a plan.
Checking an item saves this program. These are planning prompts, not a substitute for the employer's full requirements.
Add a stage & next actionRocket Lab: questions before applying
How much does the Rocket Lab internship pay?
The reviewed Long Beach additive-manufacturing posting lists $28 per hour and says a relocation stipend may be available. Other roles and locations can differ.
Can project experience meet the experience requirement?
Yes. Rocket Lab says the required three months of applied engineering experience can include internships, laboratory work and personal or team projects.
Can a graduating senior apply?
Only if the student has at least one semester of school remaining after the internship, as the posting requires. A senior continuing into another enrolled term may differ from one graduating before or immediately after summer.
Official sources & update notes
We reviewed these publisher pages on . They establish the program facts above; our preparation suggestions are independent editorial guidance.
- Summer 2027 role, degree, GPA, experience, schedule, pay and export-control terms
- Rocket Lab internship overview, paid-program statement and location eligibility
- Official current Rocket Lab internship listings
We do not infer deadlines, remote eligibility, or guaranteed offers from older recruiting cycles. Read our editorial process.