URSA Minor Undergraduate APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM

SSL’s Undergraduate R&d and Space mission Apprenticeship program (aka URSA Minor) is designed to provide qualifying Work-Study undergraduates training and experience in space research and development (R&D) and NASA mission production environments. Students enter the program after their sophomore year via one of the three summer apprenticeships described below. Selected students will support R&D and NASA flight projects and report to the SSL Quality Manager for their specific assignments. The program provides skills training in various areas, including Electrostatic Discharge, Contamination Control, and Flight Hardware Handling, all of which enable participating students to enter official NASA production environments. Additional cryogenic laboratory and/or other hazard training is also provided. Overall, the program is designed so that apprentices are continuously progressing in responsibility and advanced tasking. In general, URSA Minor apprentices work 16-24 hours/week during the initial summer training, then are expected to continue part time at 8-16 hours/week during the fall and spring semesters of their junior year. Apprentices are then expected to continue working at SSL the following summer and through their senior year. 

Available Apprentice Roles and Associated Duties:
  1. URSA Systems Engineering Apprenticeship
  • NASA Program Management support
  • Documentation Management
  • Data Management
  • Requirements Management
  • Data and Document Archival
  • Systems Design Review support
  • Systems Test and Integration support

 

  1. URSA Mechanical Engineering Apprenticeship
  • Mechanical Design support
  • Mechanical Assembly support
  • Clean room certification and maintenance
  • Precision cleaning of Flight hardware
  • Mechanical Design Review support
  • Mechanical Engineering model development

 

  1. URSA Electrical Engineering Apprenticeship
  • Electrical Design support
  • Electrical Assembly support
  • Electrical Testing support
  • Electronics parts kit support
  • Electronics Lab support
  • Electrical Design review support
  • Electronics Engineering model development
Important Additional Information

Qualifications

All applicants must be:

  • A current UC Berkeley sophomore
  • Eligible for Work-Study
  • Familiar with aerospace technology
  • Detail orientated
  • Able to follow direction well yet work independently
  • Careful and cautious with prior, demonstrable similar work experience highly desired
  • Able to work in clean room environments
  • Able to lift up to 50 lbs
  • Able to demonstrate sufficient professional written/verbal communication and interpersonal skills

Start Date: Mid-May (to be negotiated)

Wage: This is a paid apprenticeship starting at $22/hour

how to apply

Please sign in to your UC Berkeley-associated Google account, and then use the application form here to submit your statement of interest and to upload a PDF version of your current resume. Applications are due by March 15th of the current academic year. All applicants will be contacted by April 15th if they have been selected for an interview. For questions, please contact SSL Student Engagement Manager Dan Zevin at dzevin@ssl.berkeley.edu.