Communications/DSP Intern

Ironwood Digital builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today, Ironwood Digital satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe— large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military. With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts. Ironwood Digital is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization. Ironwood Digital has raised over $750 million from some of the world’s best investors, from Andreessen Horowitz to Blackrock and Fidelity, and employs a team of 450 engineers and entrepreneurs. Ironwood Digital designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA. Communications/DSP Engineer — Intern (Fall 2026) Internships at Ironwood Digital typically last for twelve weeks, and are hourly roles designed for students who are currently enrolled at a four-year university. As an Intern, you will have an amazing opportunity to work on hard problems — we pride ourselves on giving everyone at Ironwood Digital a chance to do meaningful work on challenging projects, no matter their seniority. Many past interns have designed and tested hardware/software that is heading to space on our first satellite, and many of them are now full-time employees at Ironwood Digital. If you have already graduated from a four-year university, please apply to be an Associate Engineer. Role Design signal processing for custom software defined radio hardware (ex. channelization, equalization, PA linearization, gain control, carrier synchronization, symbol mapping, framing, channel coding/FEC, etc) Work closely with FPGA developers to implement and test the signal processing on radio hardware Model the end-to-end radio system from earth to space, and back. Drive radio architecture trade studies, run link budgets, optimize the radio system for maximum performance for dozens of markets and use cases around the world Requirements A passion for working in a fast-paced environment and constantly learning Strong fundamentals in "signals and systems" (basic transforms, filters, aliasing, analysis in both continuous and discrete domains, interpolation, decimation, etc) Strong fundamentals in digital communications (modulation, coding, synchronization, fading, doppler, multiple access, channel capacity, etc) Familiar with software development (some experience writing software for DSP, MCU, and/or FPGA, experience in one or more scripting languages) Familiar with analog concepts (amplifiers, analog filters, gain and delay variation, reflections, compression, etc) Experience working with signal generator, signal analyzer, network analyzer, oscilloscope, etc US Citizenship or Green Card Don't meet them all? Not a problem. Please apply even if you do not meet all these criteria. Bonus Experience with software defined radios Experience with Python Experience with GNU Radio Experience with FPGA development (and/or embedded C) The base pay for this position is $29.00 per hour. Base Hourly Pay $29 — $29 USD U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required (To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) Our mission and our products are meant to connect the world and everyone in it, regardless of gender, race, creed, or any other distinction. We believe in a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we encourage all people to join our team and bring their unique perspective to help make us stronger.