Mechanical Engineering Intern (Type III, Pack Intern, Spring '27)
**This internship is hosted by Type III, Inc. and sponsored by the Nevada Career Studio (NCS).
Students are highly encouraged to complete a 15 minute drop-in or schedule an in-person or virtual 30-minute appointment with a Career Mentor BEFORE submitting an application. Resumes and cover letters that do not meet NCS best practices will not be included in applicant packages to employers.
After the application period closes in Handshake, the NCS Internships Team reviews the applicants and sends eligible students' applicant packages to employers for them to reach out to conduct interviews and make the final intern selection. Employers will contact students directly if they are interested in moving forward with them as a candidate.
About Type III, Inc.:
Type III is a rugged hardware company. We provide engineering consulting services, product design, and contract manufacturing services. We develop and manufacture our own products in-house at our headquarters in Reno, Nevada.
Internship Description:
Type III designs and builds rugged hardware, including industrial IoT devices, power conversion equipment, and custom mechanical solutions. Our mechanisms, thermal systems, and structures are built to survive extreme conditions with little maintenance. Interns work on real projects alongside our engineers. Day to day, that means creating CAD models and drawings, running thermal and structural analyses, and building and testing prototypes. Because we are a small, hands-on team, you will take on meaningful work early, follow products from concept through build and test, and get regular feedback from the engineers you work with.
Duties/Responsibilities:
- Complete 150 hours of work as an intern (8-15 hours per week, 15 weeks total)
- Own an appropriately sized project and see it from start to finish, hitting intermediate milestones and final deadlines. They will design, prototype, and test their projects over the course of the spring semester.
What you might do:
- Design and analyze mechanical components from concept through prototyping using CAD (e.g. Fusion 360, Siemens NX) with proper GD&T and DFM principles
- Perform thermal analysis and testing for power electronics enclosures: heat sink design, airflow optimization, thermal profiling under load
- Support structural design and validation: fixture design, vibration testing, failure analysis, and design iteration based on test results
- Conduct hands-on testing and instrumentation: strain gauges, accelerometers, thermocouples, data acquisition, and test automation
- Build and test prototypes using machine shop equipment, 3D printing, and assembly processes moving from CAD to physical hardware
- Collaborate with electrical engineers on electromechanical integration: enclosure design, cable management, connector selection, IP rating validation
- Document designs, test procedures, and results for production handoff – creating manufacturing drawings, BOMs, and assembly instructions
Goals and Expectations of the Intern:
The intern should own a project from beginning to end over the course of their internship, taking it from initial concept through to a finished deliverable. A successful intern will be passionate about their discipline and expertise, work well collaboratively with the team, and have a genuine love of learning new things.
Required Qualifications:
- Must be a degree-seeking undergraduate or graduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno during the Spring '27 semester
- Student must be enrolled in a program of study (major, minor, or graduate program) in the following colleges:
- Agriculture, Biotechnology, and Natural Resources (CABNR)
- Business
- Engineering
- Science
- Public Health/Orvis
- CAD familiarity with programs such as SolidWorks, Fusion 360, or similar
- Ability to create parts, assemblies, and manufacturing drawings
- Fundamentals understanding of free body diagrams, stress/strain analysis, heat transfer modes, material properties
- Hands-on experience with machine shop basics, 3D printing, or prototyping from coursework or personal projects
Preferred Qualifications:
- Coursework in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent program
- Completed coursework in statics, dynamics, mechanics of solids, thermodynamics, CAD/ manufacturing
- Thermal analysis or FEA exposure (hand calculations or software-based)
- Materials selection understanding beyond coursework - metals, plastics, adhesives, coatings for outdoor/industrial use
- Manufacturing process knowledge, including CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, casting, injection molding constraints
- Python or MATLAB for data analysis, test automation, or engineering calculations.
- Instrumentation and testing beyond lab coursework, including DAQ systems, sensor selection, calibration procedures
- GD&T application and tolerance stack-up analysis
- Project experience or demonstrating self-directed work such as FSAE, Baja, senior design, or personal projects that went beyond minimum course requirements
- Understanding of design for reliability such as FMEA, accelerated life testing, environmental testing standards
Desired Schedule for Intern:
The intern will work 8-15 hours per week. Internship hours can take place Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 6 PM in-person at the office based on the selected intern’s availability.
Pack STEM internships require interns to complete 150 hours during their internship. It is the intern’s responsibility to ensure this requirement is met.