Engine Design Engineer

Micro-Intern: Engine Design Engineer (IAP- Alumni Host)

Company: LiquidPiston
Location: Suffield, CT
Internship Dates: January 4-29, 2027
Schedule: Onsite, 5 days per week

Spend Your IAP Designing the Next Generation of Engines

What if you could rethink the internal combustion engine from the ground up?

LiquidPiston is developing advanced rotary engines based on our patented High Efficiency Hybrid Cycle (HEHC) and innovative X-Engine architecture. Our technology is designed to enable engines that are compact, lightweight, efficient, and capable of delivering significant power in a small package.

We’re a fast-moving R&D company where engineers are developing prototype engines - not maintaining mature production designs. Designs evolve quickly as we learn from analysis, testing, and real hardware.

During MIT’s IAP, you’ll join our engineering team and contribute to the design and development of our next-generation engines.

What You’ll Work On

This is not a shadowing internship. You’ll be given a real engine design problem and expected to contribute engineering work during your time at LiquidPiston.

Depending on current development priorities, you may:

Design or improve mechanical components within our prototype engines

Develop 3D CAD models and detailed engineering drawings

Evaluate geometry, materials, tolerances, packaging, and manufacturability

Perform engineering calculations to support your design decisions

Review existing hardware and test findings to identify design improvements

Work through design challenges where there may not be an established solution

Participate in design reviews with experienced LiquidPiston engineers

Work closely with our design, simulation, manufacturing, build, and test teams

Iterate quickly as new information becomes available

Present your design, engineering rationale, and recommendations to the team

Who We’re Looking For

We’re looking for an MIT undergraduate or graduate student studying Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field who wants to be challenged.

You should have:

Strong mechanical engineering fundamentals

Experience with 3D CAD

A genuine interest in mechanical design, engines, propulsion, or complex mechanical systems

Experience designing something through coursework, research, Formula SAE, robotics, rocketry, or personal projects

The ability to work through ambiguous engineering problems

A willingness to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and defend your engineering decisions

The ability to move quickly without needing every detail defined before getting started

Experience with engines, thermodynamics, heat transfer, FEA, GD&T, machining, or manufacturing is a plus.