Research Intern, Hardware Implementation and Validation (Energy Storage and Power Electronics)

Hitachi • Santa Clara, CA

2d • $50 - $55 • Onsite

About The Position

AI training and inference clusters produce large, fast, synchronized power swings. A single GPU rack can move more than half of its rated load in milliseconds, and when hundreds of racks move together the effect reaches the facility boundary and the grid. We are developing a hybrid energy storage system for data centers to protect upstream infrastructure and increase usable capacity. We are seeking a Research Intern (Hardware Implementation and Validation) to take this system from design to hardware. You will own the implementation and validation of the storage system and its controllers, compare the design's predicted behavior against what the hardware actually does, and feed the differences back into the design. Where the measurements show that the architecture, sizing, or control law needs to change, you will propose and implement the change. This is a hands-on engineering role with a research component. Results are expected to be reported internally and, where appropriate, to feed conference publications and standards discussions.

Requirements

• Currently enrolled in a PhD program (preferred) or MS program in Electrical Engineering, Power Engineering, or a related field.
• Solid fundamentals in power systems and power electronics: DC/DC converter topologies and control, DC bus dynamics, and protection.
• Experience with battery and supercapacitor energy storage, including electrical and thermal characteristics, state-of-charge estimation, and safe handling and testing practices.
• Experience with control of power converters or energy storage systems: classical loop design, droop control, and exposure to model predictive control or other optimization-based methods.
• Hands-on laboratory experience building, commissioning, and debugging kilowatt scale power hardware, including use of oscilloscopes, power analyzers, and programmable loads or sources.
• Proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink and Python, and the ability to move a control design from simulation to a real-time target.
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across disciplines.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with real-time platforms such as Typhoon HIL, dSPACE, OPAL-RT, Speedgoat, or equivalent.
• Experience with hybrid energy storage systems (battery plus supercapacitor) or microgrid energy management.
• Familiarity with data center power distribution (UPS, PDU, 48 V and high-voltage DC rack buses) and relevant standards such as IEEE 1159, IEEE 1547, or OCP Open Rack specifications.
• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop validation and model calibration against measured data.
• Experience with embedded C or converter firmware.
• Track record of publications, thesis work, or applied prototypes in power electronics, energy storage control, or DC microgrids.

Responsibilities

• Build, commission, and safely operate a bench-scale hybrid energy storage system (batteries, supercapacitors, bidirectional DC/DC converters, common DC bus) with programmable loads and a real-time control platform.
• Implement power-split and energy management controllers on real-time hardware and evaluate candidate control strategies head-to-head under repeatable transient test profiles.
• Design and execute a validation campaign: define test cases from realistic load traces, instrument the bench at the required time resolution, and measure response time, bus voltage deviation, energy split, and state-of-charge behavior.
• Compare measured results against simulation models, identify where the models are incomplete (converter dynamics, sensing and communication latency, storage non idealities), and update them.
• Recommend and implement design updates to storage sizing, converter control bandwidth, and the interface between fast local control loops and the supervisory controller.
• Document hardware, test procedures, and findings so the work can be reproduced and extended.
• Communicate results via technical reports, presentations, and contributions to publications and patents as appropriate.

Benefits

• Pay is determined based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, depth of experience in the practice area.
• Employees are eligible to participate in Hitachi America’s variable pay program, subject to the program’s conditions and restrictions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern