Tesla · 1 month ago
Internship, Thermal Controls Engineer, Vehicle Controls (Summer 2026)
PALO ALTO, California
Internship
Onsite
Intern
$36.06/hr - $56.12/hr
Start in 2026 SpringTesla is seeking an Intern on the Thermal Vehicle Controls team to design, simulate, and help implement sophisticated algorithms for managing thermal performance in their vehicles. The role involves developing control algorithms, building system models, and collaborating with engineers to enhance thermal management systems.
AutomotiveElectric VehicleEnergyManufacturingRenewable EnergyTransportation
Responsibilities
Research and develop estimation and control algorithms for thermal management of the cabin HVAC, powertrain, and heat pump, to deliver the best customer-experience in terms of performance, range, NVH, and cabin comfort
Build numerical system models and use them to develop and refine control strategies and drive their implementation
Work closely with Firmware, Integration, and Hardware Engineers to implement, test, and debug these algorithms on vehicle
Monitor, investigate, and close the loop on fleet performance and customer feedback of thermal controls performance
Advance the state-of-the-art in Thermal and HVAC Control systems
Qualification
Required
Currently pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Chemical, or related field
Strong fundamentals of heat-transfer and thermodynamics, devices like pumps, radiators, refrigerant systems, etc
Background in dynamic system modeling, linear systems analysis, observers and state-estimation, and first principles design and analysis of control systems
Demonstrated ability to ground-up design, analyze, and implement control systems in real-world applications
Comfort working in actual vehicles and/or test-benches to test/refine controller designs
Preferred
Basic proficiency with Embedded Firmware development in C/C++ is a plus
Basic proficiency working with data analytics distributed workloads (SQL, Spark, python) is a plus
Benefits
Aetna PPO and HSA plans > 2 medical plan options with $0 payroll deduction
Family-building, fertility, adoption and surrogacy benefits
Dental (including orthodontic coverage) and vision plans. Both have an option with a $0 payroll contribution
Company Paid (Health Savings Account) HSA Contribution when enrolled in the High Deductible Medical Plan with HSA
Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
401(k), Employee Stock Purchase Plans, and other financial benefits
Company Paid Basic Life, AD&D, and short-term disability insurance
Employee Assistance Program
Sick and Vacation time (Flex time for salary positions), and Paid Holidays
Back-up childcare and parenting support resources
Voluntary benefits to include: critical illness, hospital indemnity, accident insurance, theft & legal services, and pet insurance
Commuter benefits
Employee discounts and perks program
Company
Tesla
Tesla is an electric vehicle and clean energy company that provides electric cars, solar, and renewable energy solutions.
Founded in 2003
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Tesla has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (2796)
2024 (2113)
2023 (1304)
2022 (1227)
2021 (1102)
2020 (723)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$20.12BKey Investors
Societe GeneraleEuropean UnionPennDOT
2024-10-05Post Ipo Debt· $783M
2023-09-13Grant· $159.6M
2023-08-15Grant· $0.23M
Leadership Team
Vaibhav Taneja
Chief Financial Officer
Tom Zhu
SVP of Automotive
Recent News
2026-01-09
2026-01-09
2026-01-09
Company data provided by crunchbase