Hardware Thermal Simulation Engineering Intern at UIUC Research Park (January-August 2027)

The role

You will work on a real project supporting the cooling and packaging of electronics in next-generation vehicles. You will build thermal simulations and support the development of electronics cooling and packaging concepts.

What you will do

• Build and run thermal simulations to evaluate cooling performance of vehicle electronic hardware.
• Support the development of electronics cooling and packaging concepts.
• Explore design trade-offs to reduce mass, cost, and material usage.
• Analyze thermal stack-ups and material choices.
• Support thermal reliability assessments using mission profile data and IC package temperature limits.
• Automate repetitive analysis and post-processing tasks using scripting.
• Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, and reliability teams.
• Document methods, results, and learnings and present them to the team.

Required qualifications

• 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 softwares.
• Ability to use AI tools such as Claude/Gemini to write and debug scripts, automate analysis and post-processing, and speed up learning.
• Must be located in Champaign, IL and able to work out of our office in the Research Park.

Nice to have

• Hands-on experience with a CFD or thermal simulation tool such as Flotherm, Ansys Icepak, Star-CCM+, Fluent, or similar.
• Exposure to electronics cooling concepts, such as heat sinks, fans, thermal interface materials, or IC package thermal behavior.
• Experience with lab measurement techniques (thermocouples, IR imaging, flow measurement).
• Interest in reliability, failure analysis, or validation methods.
• Research, publications, or thesis work in thermal management, heat transfer, or a related area

Benefits

• Competitive base salary
• Annual company performance bonus program
• Equity in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
• Health coverage
• Retirement savings
• Time off
• Family planning programs

About the company

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture addressing the challenges of electric vehicles through technology. They aim to create a future that is more connected, intelligent, and sustainable.