AI Factory Cooling R&D Intern - Summer 2026

NVIDIA•Us, CA

5d•$30 - $94

About The Position

NVIDIA’s AI Factories are built to accelerate AI and HPC workloads. At their core the Digital Twin (physics-based model used to design, validate, and operate factories optimized for tokens per watt across GPUs, cooling, power, and control systems. We are seeking a PhD-level intern to support hands-on thermal R&D, simulation, and lab-based validation of data center cooling systems, from CDUs and CRAHs to advanced refrigeration and WHR-integrated systems.

Requirements

Pursuing PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal/Fluids Engineering, or similar area.
Experience with CFD tools (ANSYS Fluent, Cadence, STAR-CCM+) and/or flow network modeling (Flownex).
Hands-on experience with lab equipment, fluid loops, testing, and instrumentation.
Experience working with CAD (SolidWorks, NX) and working safely and effectively in an R&D lab environment.
Experience with LabVIEW, Python, MATLAB, or similar tools.
Strong foundation in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and thermal system design.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with liquid cooling systems (CDUs, CRAHs, Chillers).
Background with Omniverse or USD-based digital twin integration.
Experience designing/building custom test fixtures or prototypes.
Research/publications in data center cooling or advanced thermal management.

Responsibilities

Conduct CFD, FNM, and mechanical design studies for rack-level, room-level, and facility-level cooling architectures.
Build and refine CAD models and digital twin components for NVIDIA’s Omniverse platform.
Work hands-on in NVIDIA’s Santa Clara thermal labs and CM sites with CDUs, CRAHs, chillers, pumps, HX, and prototype equipment.
Set up and run experiments using LabVIEW or similar DAQ tools.
Support mechanical build activities, including working with sheet-metal vendor and assembling test fixtures.
Assist R&D for single phase liquid cooling, two-phase cooling, liquid-to-liquid systems, and hybrid cooling technologies.
Work with the full DCE team across cooling, power, controls, mechanical design and digital twin development.
Generate test reports, analyze data, and validate simulations with lab data.