Hardware Engineering Intern, Parallel Systems
The expected hourly rate for this role is $50/hr
Autonomous Zero-emissions freight transportation
Job no longer available
Autonomous Zero-emissions freight transportation
21-100 employees
Job no longer available
The expected hourly rate for this role is $50/hr
21-100 employees
Company mission
To decarbonize freight while improving supply chain logistics and safety through its autonomous, zero-emission freight transportation system.
Role
Who you are
- Currently pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field (rising junior, senior, or graduate student)
- Self-motivated problem solver who takes personal ownership of challenges and drives them to completion
- Comfortable applying first-principles thinking to find creative solutions beyond your usual scope
- Strong communication skills with the ability to present design work and field test results
Desirable
- Leadership experience on a hands-on engineering team that solves real-world problems while balancing competing priorities (e.g., FSAE, solar car, Design Build Fly, Baja SAE, or similar)
- EE candidates: CAD proficiency to enable cross-functional contributions
- ME candidates: Experience with electronics, coding, or PCBA design
- Experience with design reviews, prototyping, and iterative hardware development cycles
What the job involves
- Hardware Engineering Intern - Summer 2026 Internship
- Parallel Systems is building the future of freight transportation with autonomous, electric rail vehicles. Our technology reimagines how goods move across the country, combining cutting-edge robotics, vehicle engineering, and software to create a cleaner, more efficient rail network
- The Hardware Engineering Intern will drive progress toward initial production and production ramp-up of Mk3 vehicles
- This is a hands-on role spanning design and analysis work, process development and improvement, field testing, troubleshooting, and failure analysis. You will own and deliver a production subsystem or process from concept through implementation
- Projects will be scoped based on team priorities during the internship, but may include:
- Design and implementation of end-of-line testing for Mk3 pneumatic and brake systems
- Design, analysis, and deployment of improved powertrain installation tooling
- Design, procurement, and deployment of LV harness checkout test bench
- Design, installation, and checkout of Mk3 drag-on instrumentation system
- Design, commissioning, and implementation of gearbox onboard sensor suite
- Weeks 1-2: Onboarding, vehicle familiarization, facility visits, and pairing with an engineer on a small initial project
- Weeks 3-6: First project assignment with requirements gathering, benchmarking, concept design review, and prototype development
- Weeks 7-10: Final project assignment (new or continuation), full design cycle through implementation and field testing
- Weeks 11-12: Final presentation of outcomes, documentation, recommended next steps, and handover to the team
- Progress will be tracked through weekly check-ins, design reviews, field testing with data review and presentation, and feedback from the broader engineering team
Our take
The huge freight networks of the U.S. currently face the significant challenge of optimizing their supply chain logistics whilst meeting regulations for the mitigation of global warming. Whilst electric trucking startups provide a small-scale solution, the $700B industry is enormous, and replacing trucks would be unaffordable to most companies.
Parallel Systems designs autonomous, zero-emissions freight transportation systems for railways, providing a sustainable alternative to freight trucking. The automated rail vehicles use existing railway networks to increase infrastructure utilization and open railroads to new markets, whilst providing an alternative to logistics companies that is safer, faster, zero-emission, and lower cost.
While the company faces competition in fellow autonomous railcar company Intramotev, Parallel shows promise to disrupt the market by being based on pre-existing infrastructure that is faster, safer, and cheaper than road-based logistics. Through this approach, the company can help logistics companies become carbon-neutral whilst increasing their access to railway freight, thus saving them money and boosting opportunities for revenue growth.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
66% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)
Apr 2025
$38m
SERIES B
Jan 2022
$49.6m
SERIES A
Total funding: $91.2m
Company HQ
Arts District, Los Angeles, CA
Leadership
Matt Soule
(Founder & CEO)Avionics Engineer for SpaceX from 2006 to 2019.
Salary benchmarks
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