Job description
Benefits
- 37 hours per week
- Flexible working hours
- Hybrid working options available depending on the role
- Half day Fridays!*
- 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
subject to completing full hours prior to this
About us
Join Airbus Defence & Space in Stevenage and become part of our rapidly expanding family of highly motivated and skilled software engineers.
This internship offers a unique opportunity to learn about and work on a number of satellite programmes. You will have direct involvement in developing state-of-the-art on-board software, which will allow you to test and refine your analytical and software programming skills to an industry-leading standard. You will also have the chance to see many other aspects of satellite development, including specialist clean areas where payloads are manufactured.
Hosted within the Engineering organisation, the On-Board Digital Payload Software Engineering department spans two of our major UK sites. We design, build, and deploy a range of software solutions to enhance our stakeholders’ data and digitalise their working environments for projects including Earth Observation, Space Exploration, Science missions, and cutting-edge Telecommunications Payloads.
What you will be doing
Within this placement, you will have the opportunity to shadow the software development team to discover Space Software Engineering. You’ll use the latest tools to experience the complete software development cycle in an agile environment that has many varied commitments. The theories you’ve learned at university will come to life in real-world requirements.
You’ll have opportunities to work on applications, servers, and databases, as well as put your communication skills, design patterns, and your own stamp on our products.
The activities you may undertake will include:
- Learning and understanding the codebase you will be working on from documentation
- Designing, developing, documenting, and testing code you have written under the supervision of experienced engineers
- Getting involved in a multi-developer team
- Researching and utilising cutting-edge technologies
- Pair programming with an experienced developer
- Experiencing the full stack of software development opportunities as a valued team member
- Contributing to the development of embedded software solutions with a close link to hardware components (low-level communication layer, register control, FPGA, etc.)
You will contribute improvement ideas within a transnational organisation and use various programming languages, such as C, C++, Java, Python, and other technologies depending on the project you support.
Requirements
Our placements are open to Undergraduates only. Therefore it is mandatory for candidates to be an undergraduate for the whole duration of the placement.
Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate the following:
- Studying towards a degree in Software Engineering
- Experience in software engineering, some coding
- Curious and interested in Space
- Good communication skills (both oral and written)
This Job Request will be allocated to the projected Joint-Venture scope towards a leading European player in space.
Security clearance: You will be subject to a BPSS (Baseline Personnel Security Standard) check. You may also need to gain UK SC-level Security Clearance or Export Control, depending on the role.
This job requires an awareness of any potential compliance risks and a commitment to act with integrity, as the foundation for the Company’s success, reputation and sustainable growth.



