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

Hitachi, Ltd.; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 69,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

Hitachi America in Santa Clara, CA invites applications for a Research Intern in Hardware Implementation and Validation focused on a hybrid energy storage system for data centers. The role blends hands-on lab work with research, and involves building, testing, and validating power electronics hardware.

You will implement controllers on real-time hardware, compare measured performance with models, and propose improvements to control strategies and sizing.

Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in a PhD or MS in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• Strong fundamentals in power systems and power electronics.
• Experience with battery and supercapacitor energy storage and SOC estimation.
• Hands-on lab experience with kilowatt-scale power hardware.

Responsibilities

• Build, commission, and operate a bench-scale hybrid energy storage system.
• Implement power-split and energy management on real-time hardware.
• Design and execute a validation campaign with real-time instrumentation.
• Compare measurements to models and update simulations accordingly.
• Recommend design updates to sizing, bandwidth, and interfaces.
• Document procedures and present findings in reports and internal reviews.

Skills

Power electronics

Energy storage

Control systems

Lab hardware

MATLAB/Simulink

Python

Communication

Education

MS or PhD in EE

Tools

Typhoon HIL

dSPACE

OPAL-RT

Speedgoat

Embedded C

Job description

Job Description

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

Company: Hitachi America

Division: R&D | Strategic Solution Lab

Location: Santa Clara, CA

Status: Full time, 3-6 month internship

The Company

Hitachi America, Ltd. is the regional headquarters for Hitachi Group companies in the Americas, overseeing the U.S., Canada, and Latin America markets. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Hitachi Americas has been deeply committed to its Social Innovation Business since its establishment in 1959, addressing society's most pressing challenges through innovative solutions. Leveraging its expertise and resources, Hitachi Americas and its subsidiary companies operate across diverse sectors, including transportation, energy, mobility, industrial manufacturing, healthcare, digital engineering, data analytics and others. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, Hitachi Americas remains at the forefront of pioneering solutions that shape the future. For further details, please visit https://www.hitachi.us/.

AboutHitachi,Ltd.

Through its Social Innovation Business (SIB) that brings together IT,OT(Operational Technology)and products, Hitachiaims to be a global leader in continuously transforming social infrastructure through digital, contributingto a harmonized society where the environment, wellbeing, and economic growth are in balance.Hitachioperatesworldwide acrossfour sectors – Digital Systems & Services, Energy, Mobility, and Connective Industries –as well as aStrategic SIB Business Unitfocused onnew growthareas. With Lumada at its core, Hitachicreatesvalueby combiningdata,technologyand domain knowledgeto solve customer and social challenges.Revenues forFY2025(ended March 31, 2026) totaled10,586.7billion yen, with 606 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 290,000 employees worldwide. Visit us at www.hitachi.com.

Summary

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.

Job 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.

A Day in the Life

• Align with technical leads on build milestones, test plans, and success metrics.
• Work in the lab wiring, commissioning, and debugging converters, storage modules, and instrumentation.
• Deploy a control design from simulation to the real‑time target and run it against transient test profiles.
• Analyze measurement data, compare it with model predictions, and propose the next design or model change.
• Present progress through demos, written updates, and research 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• 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.

Why This Role

• Own a complete build, measure, and redesign loop on a system aimed at one of the fastest‑growing power engineering problems in industry.
• Work in a purpose‑built innovation lab with high‑resolution power measurement and a full energy storage stack.
• Collaborate with a research‑driven team spanning power hardware, controls, and machine learning, with real deployment pathways.

Our Values

We are proud to say we are an equal opportunity employer and welcome all applicants for employment without attention to any factor that doesn’t impact your ability to do the job, including race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. We are proud of Japanese heritage, with our values expressed through the Hitachi Spirit:

Wa – Harmony, Trust, Respect

Makoto – Sincerity, Fairness, Honesty, Integrity

Kaitakusha‑Seishin – Pioneering Spirit, Challenge

For California only (as required by California’s Pay Transparency for Pay Equity Act (SB 1162): A good faith estimate of the expected hourly pay rate for this position in our California office that the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position upon hire is $50-55/hr. 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.

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