Your Guide to Engineering Management Internships: Roles, Skills, and Salaries

Unlike traditional engineering internships that focus on discipline-specific skills, engineering management internships combine technical work with leadership development. While other interns might concentrate on designing, testing, or coding, you'll also learn to manage timelines, resources, team dynamics, and strategic decisions.

There are typically three types of internship programs to choose from.

A range of industries, including software development, manufacturing, construction, supply chain, and information technology, hire interns. You may gain job titles such as engineering management intern, software engineer intern, or industrial engineering intern with a focus on leadership, depending on the role description.

As previously mentioned, your responsibilities as an engineering management intern extend beyond traditional engineering tasks. In addition to technical work, you’ll contribute to project coordination, cost and schedule tracking, and stakeholder communication.

You may also assist in managing timelines, making sure milestones are met, and keeping projects on budget. Learning how to use project management software is essential to meeting these needs. You might also coordinate with suppliers to make sure materials arrive on time and support overall team alignment.

Notably, your duties may resemble those of a product manager intern when overseeing product development. They may also overlap with the responsibilities of a quality engineer, who focuses on process improvements and compliance. As with hardware or software engineering interns, your exact tasks will depend on the technical focus of the project.

When companies set out to hire an engineering management intern, they’re looking for candidates who have a strong combination of technical expertise as well as soft skills. 

Here’s an overview of typical requirements.

As an engineering management intern, your daily responsibilities will vary.  Depending on the program, there may be formal training sessions, regular check-ins, and predefined projects. 

On the other hand, a less-structured program might allow interns to take the initiative and shape their own experience. For example, you might volunteer across teams or explore areas outside your core duties.

Regardless of program structure, most engineering management interns benefit from mentorship, allowing for meaningful change and shadowing seniors. As a mentee, you’ll likely collaborate with engineers, product managers, and data analysts on cross-functional tasks.

You’ll also have the opportunity to engage in activities like research and development, operations, IT, and manufacturing, deepening your understanding of how engineering affects your company. 

Aspiring engineering management interns can start by checking out the career pages of companies. You can also explore popular job boards like Handshake, Indeed, and LinkedIn, where internship opportunities are posted regularly. 

To stay informed of the latest opportunities and increase your chances of being an early applicant, set up job alerts and apply early. 

Many companies emphasize their commitment to equal employment opportunity and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds, including international students. Check postings regarding visa sponsorships or work authorization, as not all offer it. 

Meanwhile, high school students or undergraduates may feel more comfortable searching for internships that don’t require prior experience.

For project-based candidates interested in short-term roles, specialized platforms like Extern or Generation Hired are helpful. You can also network through your school’s career services department, which may provide more tailored positions in your area of interest.

After applying for an engineering management internship, you may be invited to an interview where your technical, leadership, and teamwork skills will be assessed. 

Be prepared also to answer questions about your cross-functional experience, project ownership, and process management.

To gauge an applicant’s experience, interviewers may ask you questions such as:

To prepare, consider using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method. This means your answer should include the description of a situation, a task, an action, and a result, helping to keep your responses clear and concise.

According to PayScale, the average hourly pay for an engineering intern is $20.56.¹ This figure can vary significantly depending on several factors, including company size, location, engineering specialization, and the level of candidate experience. Interns in regions with a high cost of living or those who work for large tech firms might receive higher pay than those who work for smaller companies or live in less urban areas.

Paid internships offer both financial support and valuable career experience. Many companies use these programs to assess and attract full-time hires, which means strong performance during a paid internship can result in job offers.

Whether you’re a software engineer intern, mechanical engineering intern, or supply chain intern, securing a paid internship is a worthy strategy to build up your experience and advance your career.