Intern - Mechanical Engineer

Kickstart your engineering career on one of Australia’s most critical Defence aviation programs. As a Mechanical Engineer Intern at Northrop Grumman Australia (NGA), you’ll gain hands-on exposure supporting the KC‑30A fleet - an aircraft central to the Royal Australian Air Force’s air-to-air refuelling and transport capability. 

Working alongside experienced engineers and Defence professionals, you’ll apply your university learning in a real-world environment while contributing to meaningful outcomes that support Australia’s national security. 

What you’ll be doing 

 You’ll be part of a supportive engineering team and will be guided every step of the way while you:  

• Support mechanical engineering activities across aircraft sustainment and support

• Help prepare engineering documentation, reports, and technical data 

• Assist with engineering investigations and problem-solving tasks 

• Learn how engineering changes are managed in a regulated aviation environment 

• Work alongside engineers, logistics and Defence stakeholders 

• Gain exposure to Defence aviation standards, safety processes, and best practice 

This 12 week internship is designed to help you learn, grow, and gain confidence in a real Defence engineering environment.  This role is based at our Springfield Lakes office in Brisbane, Queensland.

Eligibility requirements:  

We’re looking for curious, motivated students who are keen to learn:  

• Currently studying a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (or similar) 

• Interested in aviation, Defence, or complex engineering systems 

• Happy to ask questions and learn from others

• Strong attention to detail with a willingness to problem‑solve 

• Good communication skills and a collaborative mindset 

• Australian citizenship (required to work on Defence programs)

• Ability to work full-time over the allocated internship period 

If you’re ready to apply your engineering studies in a real Defence environment and learn from some of the best in the industry, we’d love to hear from you.  You can submit your application, along with your Resume, Cover Letter and Academic Transcripts on our website. Due to our secure systems, we are unable to accept resumes and other documentation via email. 

The Recruitment Process  

• Apply on our website with the required documents. A cover letter is crucial as we want to know, “why us?” 

• You will receive an email with a survey and some more information about Northrop Grumman, which we hope you complete as soon as possible. 

• You will receive a call or email from one of our friendly recruitment team to talk through your application. From here, our recruitment team will organise for you to attend one of our assessment centres or an interview. 

• A recruitment representative or your hiring manager will give you a call to let you know if you are successful or unsuccessful.  

• If you are successful, a People and Culture representative will then reach out to you to discuss your onboarding and provide a warm welcome to Northrop Grumman! 

Please note that our recruitment process can be lengthy due to the strong security checks required which allow our Interns to get close to our secure technology. Therefore, any candidates MUST have an Australian Citizenship to apply.