Apply on Employer Site

Sandia National Laboratories · 4 hours ago

Intern, R&D Graduate Year Round - Concentrating Solar Technologies - PARTNERS, Hybrid

Albuquerque, NM

Internship

Hybrid

Intern

Sandia National Laboratories is a premier science and engineering lab focused on national security and technology innovation. They are seeking a Year Round R&D Graduate Intern to work collaboratively in the Concentrating Solar Technologies department, performing research, analyzing data, and developing models for cutting-edge solar technology projects.

GovernmentInformation TechnologyNational Security

Growth Opportunities

No H1B

Security Clearance Required

U.S. Citizen Only

Responsibilities

Design and implement hardware and components for experimental thermofluid test systems including supercritical CO2 and molten salt fluid flow loops

Employ CFD packages and high-fidelity research codes to simulate and analyze these processes system components, such as heat exchangers, piping, and manifolds, to predict outlet conditions and ensure safe loop operation

Assist in the fabrication, assembly, and installation of hardware into operational test loops

Compare and validate CFD simulation results against experimental data, and troubleshoot discrepancies between predicted and observed system behavior

Participate in the design, planning, and execution of thermofluid experiments and conduct experiments to characterize thermodynamic properties, heat transfer behavior, and particle physics phenomena in molten salt

Collaborate with the engineering team to refine models, improve hardware designs, and enhance system performance

Qualification

Computational Fluid DynamicsThermofluidsHeat TransferExperimental Thermal-Fluid SystemsANSYS FluentCOMSOLMATLABPythonMolten Salt SystemsTechnical WritingTeam CollaborationIndependent Work

Required

Earned bachelor's degree

Currently attending and enrolled full time in an accredited science, engineering, or math graduate program

Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0

Ability to work up to 30 hours per week during the academic year, and up to 40 hours per week during the summer

Ability to secure and maintain a U.S. security clearance which requires U.S. citizenship

Preferred

Currently attending and enrolled full time (or scheduled to graduate in the spring) in an accredited science, engineering, or math graduate program at one of the following PARTNERS universities: University of Central Florida, Florida A&M University, University of California Irvine

Pursuing a graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related field

Strong background in thermofluids, heat transfer, and energy systems

Experience with computational fluid dynamics modeling

Proficiency with relevant software such as ANSYS Fluent, COMSOL, MATLAB, and Python

Demonstrated experience working with molten salt systems, including thermophysical properties, system behavior, and operational considerations

Familiarity with supercritical CO2 (sCO2) systems, including compressor/heat-exchanger behavior and loop dynamics

Experience with experimental thermal-fluid systems or test loops

Experience designing or analyzing heat exchangers, pumps, or thermal-fluid test loops

Ability to set up, run, and validate numerical simulations against experimental data

Excellent technical writing and documentation skills

Ability to work independently in a research environment and contribute to multi-disciplinary engineering team

Benefits

Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)

Generous vacation

Strong medical and other benefits

Competitive 401k

Learning opportunities

Relocation assistance

Amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance