
SkillBridge Internship Program
The University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) is an approved DoD SkillBridge partner. UTSI’s SkillBridge Internship program connects service members with well-known aerospace faculty and researchers to mentor and assist with the transition to civilian life. This program is designed to expand upon the service member’s military experience and enhance their skills, knowledge, and experience. Service members that participate in the SkillBridge program still receive their military compensation and benefits. Service members intern alongside UT faculty, staff, and students at no cost to the service member.
About the Space Institute
Located on a satellite campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), in Tullahoma, Tennessee, the campus is adjacent to Arnold Air Force Base (AEDC), the epicenter of US aerospace ground testing. The campus is approximately an one-hour drive from Nashville, Chattanooga, and Huntsville – which places the campus within driving distance to Redstone Arsenal and Fort Campbell. Within the Northern Alabama – Middle Tennessee area there are also several large aerospace industry partners, such as Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Schmiede, I3, Cubic, Dynetics, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Raytheon, Microcraft, Jacobs.
Many of the internships offered through this program either partially or fully support the research on campus. UTSI is home to over 80,000 square feet of laboratories with world-class facilities and instrumentation. In fact, UTSI houses many of UT’s experimental aerospace testing platforms, such as:
- Mach 2 Blowdown Tunnel (8″ x 8″ Test-Section)
- Mach 2.3 Blowdown Tunnel (6″ x 6″ Test-Section)
- Mach 4 Ludwieg Tube (24″ x 24″ Test-Section)
- Mach 7 Ludwieg Tube (18″ x 18″ Test-Section)
Internship Positions Available
Applicant will co-instruct a Master’s level or undergraduate course in aerospace or mechanical engineering in partnership with an experienced faculty member who regularly teaches the course. The applicant will be provided with course materials and mentorship, but will also be encouraged to draw from their professional experience to enrich the content of the course.
Successful applicants with interest in the area may also be coached on the development of academic research programs and be given an opportunity to develop experience in the proposal and management of educational research programs.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Instruct two 75-minute lectures a week.
- Advise individual students enrolled in the course during routine office hours and ad hoc appointments.
- Grade exams and assignments related to the assigned course.
- Suggest additional content based on professional experience to enrich course content.
- Help plan for the development of future courses and curriculum development.
- Develop graduate courses in their area of research to facilitate departmental growth.
- Interested applicants will also be provided an opportunity to contribute to sponsored research programs with the goal of broadening the applicant’s experience and record of professional accomplishments in this area.
The program manager will be responsible for program management of existing programs, as well as proposal development and program management of new faculty driven project areas inside the University of Tennessee Space Institute. The focus of this position is managing existing programs, while partnering with faculty and staff to develop relationships, with government and industry to drive growth, create research opportunities, and execute projects to support the University of Tennessee and its customers. The manager will use their knowledge of customers, industry, and competition to assist the faculty with identifying and pursuing key opportunities for growth for the University of Tennessee. They will also work with team members within UT to manage communication and coordination needs of projects and administer the fiscal, administrative and data management responsibilities.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Project oversight and management in one of the existing programs.
- Establish and promote multi-disciplinary, multi-investigator teams across organizations and disciplines for the purpose of competing successfully for large scale projects, research centers, and training program opportunities.
- Responsible for proposal development and program management of new projects from cradle to grave.
- Use situational awareness to fully understand the specific research priorities and personnel needs of potential sponsors and partners.
- Prepare and present university research capabilities to potential sponsors and partners.
- Facilitate connections between university investigators and potential customers including arranging for meetings, conference calls, workshops, presentations, demonstrations, collaborations, and proposer’s days participation.
- Work with staff and provide input to develop marketing materials, research agreements, and contract agreements, as necessary.
- Maintain a current inventory of prospects and projects.
- Attend and participate in agency sponsored meetings and conferences.
- Coordinates with university and partner organization to prepare proposals, business plans, proposal work statements, operational budgets, and specifications.
- Strong judgment and decision-making abilities.
- The ability to multi-task, manage multiple projects, and work well in a high-intensity environment with strict attention to details and deadlines.
The technical specialist will be responsible for supporting the research and/or machine shop operations on site at the UTSI campus, located in Tullahoma, TN. This position will provide general knowledge of the operations, machining, facilities, laboratories, and support equipment on campus with an opportunity to focus on one support area if desired. The technical specialist will work with the UT team to manage and prioritize the support of the advanced aerospace research laboratories and facilities, in the form of maintenance, fabrication, design, and the safe operation of research apparatuses.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Fabricates, installs, operates, maintains, inspects, and repairs specialized equipment per regulations, codes, and professional practices.
- Troubleshoots and diagnoses a broad range of scientific instrumentation and equipment.
- Fabricates and assembles components as specified.
- Selects materials and components needed for completion of designs, fabrications, and repairs.
- Reads, interprets, and uses blueprints and schematics, instructions, manuals, or shop drawings to understand specifications of work.
- Performs maintenance and repair on malfunctioning equipment to include modification, replacement of parts, adjustment, and calibration.
Internship applications are accepted throughout the year for most positions.
If interested in one of the positions available, please fill out this form.
For those interested in the Instructor/Faculty Member internship, start dates are January 1, June 1, and August 1 to coincide with the start of the academic semesters.
If you have any questions about the program, please reach out to:
David Byrd

DISCLAIMER OF ENDORSEMENT: The information provided in this page is for informational purposes only and neither constitutes nor implies any endorsement, recommendation, or favoring of any entity, product, service, or organization by the Department of Defense SkillBridge program or any part of the Department of Defense.
The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of, race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or covered veteran status.