Engineering Intern
interstates
Remote, US
Uncategorized
Job Score
70 pts
On-site model (+70)
Take Charge of Your Career at Interstates
At Interstates, we don’t just show up to work, we show up for each other. From our headquarters in Iowa to job sites across the country, we’re doing award-winning electrical, controls, automation, and OT work that powers industrial facilities for clients here in the U.S. and around the world. Whether you’re bending conduit, wiring panels, writing code, supporting projects, or helping things run behind the scenes, you’ll be part of a crew that works hard, shares laughs, and takes pride in doing quality work. We believe in building strong teams, doing the right thing, and making a difference in the communities where we live. If you want to grow and do meaningful work, you’ll feel at home here.
A Design Services intern will support Interstates with a variety of tasks and projects, gaining hands-on experience in industrial electrical design and construction. This role offers a unique opportunity to immerse oneself in a dynamic, hands-on learning environment, working alongside seasoned professionals, develop an electrical construction vocabulary. Individuals will be actively involved in real projects, engaging with our teams as they work on current initiatives moving through the pipeline. This is an excellent opportunity to get an in-depth education in a specific electrical discipline as well as business operations, project management, safety, and other valuable skills that will be instrumental in your future career.
Primary Duties:
- Equipment Lists – Collect data and review received information that represent the scope of the project
- Design – Record design decisions in software like InterTrak (internal equipment list software) to facilitate design drawings and equipment specifications
- Drawings – Use 2D and 3D drafting software to develop electrical drawings used to communicate project scope to the contractors or fabricators
- Professional Communication – Utilize various software to provide clear communication with team members and clients regarding project updates
Secondary Duties:
- Travel to job-sites or shop and work alongside the craft or manufacturing team as tasks/projects are completed
- Network within Interstates industries to promote the Interstates brand and further promote our position as a premier provider of engineering services
- In all aspects of the position, this role will carry out his/her duties in compliance with organizational policy and applicable laws
- Other duties as assigned
Discipline Emphases – Each internship will focus on one of the following:
- Studies
- Utilize SKM to complete power system models and execute Arc Flash, Coordination, and Short Circuit analysis
- Write reports to communicate the electrical hazards present, precautionary measures, and remediation recommendations
- Power
- Develop the electrical distribution plan to bring power from the utility to the utilization equipment (motors, devices, lights, and receptacles)
- Use AutoCAD and Revit to develop electrical drawings communicating the scope of the project
- PDP (Planning Design & Prefab)
- Develop a constructible plan that facilitates successful off-site prefabrication and on-site installation of electrical systems
- Use Revit to develop 3D BIM models and produce installation or manufacturing documents
- Controls
- Design Automation Control Panels including PLC, and Remote I/O Panels and Low Voltage (480VAC) Motor Control Panels
- Design electrical schematics and wiring diagrams for connections to field instrumentation
- Instrumentation
- Evaluate P&IDs (Process and Instrumentation Diagrams) to understand the process and validate device requirements
- Size and select industrial measurement and control devices (Temp Transmitters, Flowmeters, Pressure Gauges, Hazard Monitoring, etc.)
- Field
- Deliver elements of the above disciplines while working on-site alongside construction personnel
- Aid in the design/build process by gathering field information and validating project design
Education and/or Experience:
- 0-4 years of electrical experience/education, be working towards an engineering degree. Additionally, candidates pursuing a drafting degree from a technical college will be considered.
Preferred Skills:
- Good communication (verbal, written, listening) and teamwork skills
- Knowledge of, or interest in, manufacturing, industrial, and electrical systems
- Ability to work with superintendents, engineers, estimators, and customers
Travel: Travel may be required and will vary according to business requirements and internship.
What You Should Know Before You Apply
Interstates may collect personal information as part of your job application, such as your contact details, work history, education, and any information you provide. This information is used only for recruitment, to evaluate your candidacy, and to meet legal requirements. For details about our privacy practices and your rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), please see our Privacy Policy. By applying, you acknowledge that you have reviewed this notice.
Interstates is an EEO provider and offers a drug-free workplace. Employment at Interstates is at-will and may be terminated at any time with or without notice or cause, except as otherwise provided by law.
Discover Other Areas
Understand the scope of work, key skills, and tools used in different career areas.
About Business Intelligence
Business Intelligence (BI) is the area responsible for transforming raw data into strategic information for decision-making. BI professionals build dashboards, reports, and analyses that help companies understand their performance and identify growth opportunities.
Key skills include data modeling (star schema, snowflake), ETL (extraction, transformation, loading), advanced SQL, BI tools (Power BI, Tableau, Looker), data warehousing, KPIs, and business metrics analysis (MRR, churn, cohort). Knowledge of dbt, Airflow, and data pipelines is a differentiator.
BI professionals in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master data visualization, analytics engineering, and can translate complex data into actionable insights for the business. The field offers opportunities from BI analyst to head of data, with a focus on data-driven decision making.
About Engineering
Software Engineering goes beyond traditional development, focusing on scalability, performance, and system architecture. Software engineers are responsible for designing infrastructures that support millions of simultaneous users.
Skills include microservices architecture, DevOps, cloud computing, application security, and performance optimization. Knowledge of containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and CI/CD is increasingly required.
Senior software engineers are rare and highly compensated professionals, with opportunities at major global tech companies.
About Communications
The Communications area is strategic for building and maintaining a company's institutional image. It encompasses corporate, internal, and external communication, public relations, press office, and reputation management. Communications professionals are responsible for delivering consistent messages that strengthen the employer brand and market positioning.
Key skills include strategic writing, communication planning, crisis management, media relations, corporate content production, event organization, and digital communication. Knowledge of communication CRMs, press release distribution platforms, and media monitoring tools (Meltwater, Cision) is a differentiator.
Corporate communicators in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master change communication, employee engagement, and digital communication. The field offers opportunities in startups, scale-ups, and large corporations, with a focus on storytelling, organizational culture, and innovation communication.
About Web Master
The Web Master is the professional responsible for maintaining, securing, and ensuring the technical performance of websites and web applications. They manage servers, hosting infrastructure, uptime monitoring, and ensure everything runs fast and reliably.
Key skills include server management (Apache, Nginx), hosting (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure), CDN (Cloudflare), SSL, DNS, web security (WAF, firewall), performance (Core Web Vitals, cache, compression), and versioning (Git, CI/CD). Knowledge of Docker, WordPress, cPanel, and monitoring (Sentry, New Relic) is a differentiator.
Web Masters in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master DevOps, SRE, and can guarantee uptime and performance at scale. The field offers opportunities from junior webmaster to SRE and infrastructure engineer, with a focus on reliability, security, and speed.
About Project Management
Project Management is essential to ensure strategic initiatives are delivered on time, within scope, and with quality. PM professionals coordinate teams, manage risks, and communicate with stakeholders.
Key methodologies include PMBOK, PRINCE2, Scrum, and Kanban. Tools like Jira, Asana, Monday, and MS Project are widely used in daily work.
Certifications like PMP and PgMP are important differentiators in the market, with growing demand in technology and consulting companies.