Test Systems Engineering Internship
Are you applying to the internship?
Job Description
About Tesla’s Internship Program:
Tesla’s Internship Recruiting Team focuses on identifying and developing emerging talent. Their year-round program places students in positions for technical, professional, and personal growth. Interns work closely with managers, mentors, and teams on projects critical to the team’s success, providing a realistic experience of life at Tesla. The program requires a minimum 12-week, full-time, on-site commitment. It’s designed for currently enrolled students; recent graduates should apply for full-time roles. International students with CPT work authorization must verify their eligibility for 40-hour workweeks with their schools. Internship locations include Palo Alto, CA; Fremont, CA; and Reno, NV.
Job Description (Various Roles):
Tesla offers several internship opportunities within its Abuse Test and Engineering group, all centered around testing the limits of battery cells and systems for Tesla’s various products (vehicles and energy storage). The common thread is destructive testing to understand failure modes and inform design improvements. Specific roles include:
• Test Systems Engineering Internship: Supporting the battery cell abuse team across all Tesla programs, conducting electrical, thermal, and mechanical abuse tests.
• High Voltage Abuse Test Internship: Working with the Electrical Abuse Test Group, stress-testing electrical components (e.g., fuses, high-voltage management systems) to ensure they meet Tesla standards.
• Battery Propagation Resistance Test Engineering Internship: Pushing battery systems to their limits using specialized equipment to apply various stresses and providing rapid feedback for design improvements.
• Abuse Test & Engineering R&D Internship: Focusing on destructive testing of batteries at the pack, module, and cell levels, involved in all Tesla battery programs.
• Cell Materials Engineering, Abuse Test Internship: Working collaboratively with engineers from various disciplines to root cause technical issues and conduct recreation testing of failure modes, requiring materials characterization experience.
Required Qualifications (Across all roles):
• Currently pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related field.
• Strong understanding of heat transfer, combustion principles, and fluid mechanics.
• Familiarity with battery systems, characteristics, and failures (knowledge of lithium-ion batteries preferred).
• Hands-on experience with equipment testing (designing, building, assembling, electrical wiring, and troubleshooting).
• Experience in experimental testing and research in an academic or industrial laboratory setting.
• Experience with high-temperature processes, testing, and/or analysis.
• Ability to set up, run, and analyze hands-on tests and characterization.
• Hands-on skills (assembly, fabrication/modification, instrumentation, wiring, electrical troubleshooting).
• Experience with CAD software (Catia V5, V6, or Solidworks).
• Proficiency in software such as LabVIEW, MATLAB, Python, or other programming languages.
• Knowledge of electrical systems (PCBs, resistors, voltage).
• Knowledge of manufacturing methods for prototyping (machining, welding, sheet metal forming, 3D printing).
