About the role#
As a Thermal Simulation Intern on the Hardware Thermal & Structural team, you will work on projects supporting the cooling and packaging of electronics for next-generation vehicles. You will be paired with an experienced engineer to gain hands-on exposure to how thermal simulation drives hardware design decisions in automotive electronics.
What you'll do#
- Build and run thermal simulations, including CFD and conduction models, to evaluate the cooling performance of vehicle electronic hardware.
- Support the development of electronics cooling and packaging concepts, such as heat sinks, thermal interface materials, and enclosure layouts.
- Explore design trade-offs to reduce mass, cost, and material usage while meeting thermal targets.
- Analyze thermal stack-ups and material choices, summarizing findings as clear recommendations for design engineers.
- Support thermal reliability assessments by working with mission profile data and IC package temperature limits.
- Automate repetitive analysis and post-processing tasks using scripting.
- Collaborate with engineers across mechanical, electrical, and reliability teams.
- Document your methods, results, and learnings, presenting your findings to the team.
What you'll need#
- Currently pursuing a Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
- Coursework or project experience in heat transfer and fluid mechanics.
- Familiarity with numerical simulation software.
- Ability to use AI tools like Claude or Gemini to write and debug scripts, automate analysis, and speed up learning, while verifying output against engineering fundamentals.
- Hands-on experience with a CFD or thermal simulation tool such as Flotherm, Ansys Icepak, Star-CCM+, or Fluent.
- Exposure to electronics cooling concepts and lab measurement techniques like thermocouples, IR imaging, or flow measurement.
- Interest in reliability, failure analysis, or validation methods.
- Research, publications, or thesis work in thermal management or heat transfer.
Location & details#
- Location: Champaign, Illinois, at the Research Park office.
- Term: Winter 2027 and Summer 2027 (January 11, 2027, to August 13, 2027).
- Modality: On-site.
- Employment: Full-time internship.
About Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies
Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture focused on software development for electric vehicles. Founded in 2024, the company creates operating systems, zonal controllers, and cloud connectivity solutions. It maintains a staff of 1,689 employees across offices in Palo Alto, Irvine, Vancouver, and Belgrade. The organization operates as a private entity.
How to get in at Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies
Applying early to Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies gives you a distinct advantage before the applicant pool becomes unmanageable. Intern Insider sends an instant alert the moment a role matching your target is published, ensuring you are among the first to submit your materials. Getting your application in before the pile grows is a practical way to ensure your profile is actually reviewed. You can also use Intern Insider to surface the specific recruiters behind these roles. Reaching out directly to ask about the position or a referral often improves response rates compared to waiting in a digital queue. It is a more direct approach that respects your time and effort.
