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

What you'd do

• 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.
• 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.

What they want

• 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.

About Hitachi

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.