About the role#
As a Thermal Engineer intern, you will join the Tesla Energy team to work on thermal systems for battery, solar, and charging technologies. You will use a first principles approach to design air and coolant systems, as well as refrigerant cycles. This role involves moving from initial design concepts to system performance ownership. You will collaborate across departments, including systems, electrical, firmware, and validation teams, to rethink thermal system design.
What you'll do#
- Create in-depth models to guide design concepts and decisions for next-generation energy products.
- Perform thermal and fluid reduced order modeling to optimize component performance.
- Work with design engineers to refine strategies at the component and subsystem level.
- Improve product performance while balancing efficiency, cost, manufacturability, and serviceability.
- Build and test engineering prototypes and fabricate components.
- Develop design validation plans, test methods, and DFMEA documentation.
- Draft technical design documents and specifications.
- Support programs through the full life cycle, from specification to production.
What you'll need#
- Current pursuit of a degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
- Strong fundamentals in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and thermodynamics.
- Experience with MATLAB or Python for building physics-based 1D models.
- Background in designing, analyzing, or testing thermal components like heat exchangers, compressors, fans, or pumps.
- Ability to solve novel thermal design problems.
- Strong communication skills and attention to detail.
- Familiarity with manufacturing processes and design limitations.
- CAD modeling experience is preferred, with CATIA V5/6 being a plus.
- FEA or CFD modeling experience, such as ANSYS or STAR-CCM+, is preferred.
Location & details#
- Location: Palo Alto, California.
- Terms: Winter 2027, Spring 2027, or Summer 2027.
- Commitment: Full-time (40 hours per week) and on-site.
- Duration: Minimum of 12 weeks.
- Compensation: $20.00 - $50.00 per hour plus benefits.
About Tesla
Tesla produces electric vehicles, battery storage systems, and solar energy products. Founded in 2003, the company operates six vertically integrated factories across three continents. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and employs over 10,000 people. The organization designs, manufactures, sells, and services its products internally.
How to get in at Tesla
Applying early at Tesla provides a distinct advantage because recruiters review candidates before the applicant pool becomes unmanageable. Intern Insider sends an instant alert the moment a role matching your target is published anywhere, so you apply among the first and get seen before the pile grows. Reaching out to the right people often yields better results than submitting to a general queue. Intern Insider surfaces the recruiters behind the company roles so you can contact them directly to ask about the position or a referral, which materially improves your response rates.
