Energy CPT Jobs in California
F-1 CPT energy jobs in California span solar development at companies like NextEra Energy and SunPower, grid modernization roles at Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison, and clean energy research positions across the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego. California's aggressive renewable energy mandates create consistent demand for international students in engineering, data analytics, and environmental roles.
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Get Access To All JobsLocation:
Santa Clara, California, United States
Job ID:
R0144505
Date Posted:
2026-09-09
Company Name:
HITACHI AMERICA, LTD.
Profession (Job Category):
Administration & Facilities
Job Schedule:
Full time
Remote:
No
Title: Research Intern, Hardware Implementation and Validation (Energy Storage and Power Electronics)
Company: Hitachi America
Division: R&D | Strategic Solution Lab
Status: Full time, 3-6 month internship
About Hitachi America, Ltd.
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. Leveraging its expertise and resources, Hitachi Americas and its subsidiary companies operate across diverse sectors, including transportation, energy, mobility, industrial manufacturing, healthcare, digital engineering, data analytics and others. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, Hitachi Americas remains at the forefront of pioneering solutions that shape the future.
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Through its Social Innovation Business (SIB) that brings together IT, OT(Operational Technology) and products, Hitachi aims to be a global leader in continuously transforming social infrastructure through digital, contributing to a harmonized society where the environment, wellbeing, and economic growth are in balance. Hitachi operates worldwide across four sectors – Digital Systems & Services, Energy, Mobility, and Connective Industries – as well as a Strategic SIB Business Unit focused on new growth areas. With Lumada at its core, Hitachi creates value by combining data, technology and domain knowledge to solve customer and social challenges. Revenues for FY2025 (ended March 31, 2026) totaled 10,586.7 billion yen, with 606 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 290,000 employees worldwide.
Summary
AI training and inference clusters produce large, fast, synchronized power swings. A single GPU rack can move more than half of its rated load in milliseconds, and when hundreds of racks move together the effect reaches the facility boundary and the grid. We are developing a hybrid energy storage system for data centers to protect upstream infrastructure and increase usable capacity.
We are seeking a Research Intern (Hardware Implementation and Validation) to take this system from design to hardware. You will own the implementation and validation of the storage system and its controllers, compare the design's predicted behavior against what the hardware actually does, and feed the differences back into the design. Where the measurements show that the architecture, sizing, or control law needs to change, you will propose and implement the change. This is a hands-on engineering role with a research component. Results are expected to be reported internally and, where appropriate, to feed conference publications and standards discussions.
Job Responsibilities
- 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.
A Day in the Life
- 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.
- Analyze measurement data, compare it with model predictions, and propose the next design or model change.
- Present progress through demos, written updates, and research discussions.
Requirements
- 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.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with real-time platforms such as Typhoon HIL, dSPACE, OPAL-RT, Speedgoat, or equivalent.
- Experience with hybrid energy storage systems (battery plus supercapacitor) or microgrid energy management.
- Familiarity with data center power distribution (UPS, PDU, 48 V and high-voltage DC rack buses) and relevant standards such as IEEE 1159, IEEE 1547, or OCP Open Rack specifications.
- Experience with hardware-in-the-loop validation and model calibration against measured data.
- Experience with embedded C or converter firmware.
- Track record of publications, thesis work, or applied prototypes in power electronics, energy storage control, or DC microgrids.
Why This Role
- Own a complete build, measure, and redesign loop on a system aimed at one of the fastest-growing power engineering problems in industry.
- Work in a purpose-built innovation lab with high-resolution power measurement and a full energy storage stack.
- Collaborate with a research-driven team spanning power hardware, controls, and machine learning, with real deployment pathways.
Our Values
We are proud to say we are an equal opportunity employer and welcome all applicants for employment without attention to any factor that doesn’t impact your ability to do the job, including race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. We are proud of Japanese heritage, with our values expressed through the Hitachi Spirit:
Wa – Harmony, Trust, Respect
Makoto – Sincerity, Fairness, Honesty, Integrity
Kaitakusha-Seishin – Pioneering Spirit, Challenge
For California only (as required by California’s Pay Transparency for Pay Equity Act (SB 1162): A good faith estimate of the expected hourly pay rate for this position in our California office that the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position upon hire is $50-55/hr. Pay is determined based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, depth of experience in the practice area. Employees are eligible to participate in Hitachi America’s variable pay program, subject to the program’s conditions and restrictions.
Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE)-Females/Minorities/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
If you need a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job at Hitachi, please send the nature of request and contact information to accommodation@hal.hitachi.com. Queries other than accommodation requests will not be responded to.
Location:
Santa Clara, California, United States
Job ID:
R0144505
Date Posted:
2026-09-09
Company Name:
HITACHI AMERICA, LTD.
Profession (Job Category):
Administration & Facilities
Job Schedule:
Full time
Remote:
No
Title: Research Intern, Hardware Implementation and Validation (Energy Storage and Power Electronics)
Company: Hitachi America
Division: R&D | Strategic Solution Lab
Status: Full time, 3-6 month internship
About Hitachi America, Ltd.
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. Leveraging its expertise and resources, Hitachi Americas and its subsidiary companies operate across diverse sectors, including transportation, energy, mobility, industrial manufacturing, healthcare, digital engineering, data analytics and others. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, Hitachi Americas remains at the forefront of pioneering solutions that shape the future.
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Through its Social Innovation Business (SIB) that brings together IT, OT(Operational Technology) and products, Hitachi aims to be a global leader in continuously transforming social infrastructure through digital, contributing to a harmonized society where the environment, wellbeing, and economic growth are in balance. Hitachi operates worldwide across four sectors – Digital Systems & Services, Energy, Mobility, and Connective Industries – as well as a Strategic SIB Business Unit focused on new growth areas. With Lumada at its core, Hitachi creates value by combining data, technology and domain knowledge to solve customer and social challenges. Revenues for FY2025 (ended March 31, 2026) totaled 10,586.7 billion yen, with 606 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 290,000 employees worldwide.
Summary
AI training and inference clusters produce large, fast, synchronized power swings. A single GPU rack can move more than half of its rated load in milliseconds, and when hundreds of racks move together the effect reaches the facility boundary and the grid. We are developing a hybrid energy storage system for data centers to protect upstream infrastructure and increase usable capacity.
We are seeking a Research Intern (Hardware Implementation and Validation) to take this system from design to hardware. You will own the implementation and validation of the storage system and its controllers, compare the design's predicted behavior against what the hardware actually does, and feed the differences back into the design. Where the measurements show that the architecture, sizing, or control law needs to change, you will propose and implement the change. This is a hands-on engineering role with a research component. Results are expected to be reported internally and, where appropriate, to feed conference publications and standards discussions.
Job Responsibilities
- 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.
A Day in the Life
- 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.
- Analyze measurement data, compare it with model predictions, and propose the next design or model change.
- Present progress through demos, written updates, and research discussions.
Requirements
- 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.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with real-time platforms such as Typhoon HIL, dSPACE, OPAL-RT, Speedgoat, or equivalent.
- Experience with hybrid energy storage systems (battery plus supercapacitor) or microgrid energy management.
- Familiarity with data center power distribution (UPS, PDU, 48 V and high-voltage DC rack buses) and relevant standards such as IEEE 1159, IEEE 1547, or OCP Open Rack specifications.
- Experience with hardware-in-the-loop validation and model calibration against measured data.
- Experience with embedded C or converter firmware.
- Track record of publications, thesis work, or applied prototypes in power electronics, energy storage control, or DC microgrids.
Why This Role
- Own a complete build, measure, and redesign loop on a system aimed at one of the fastest-growing power engineering problems in industry.
- Work in a purpose-built innovation lab with high-resolution power measurement and a full energy storage stack.
- Collaborate with a research-driven team spanning power hardware, controls, and machine learning, with real deployment pathways.
Our Values
We are proud to say we are an equal opportunity employer and welcome all applicants for employment without attention to any factor that doesn’t impact your ability to do the job, including race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. We are proud of Japanese heritage, with our values expressed through the Hitachi Spirit:
Wa – Harmony, Trust, Respect
Makoto – Sincerity, Fairness, Honesty, Integrity
Kaitakusha-Seishin – Pioneering Spirit, Challenge
For California only (as required by California’s Pay Transparency for Pay Equity Act (SB 1162): A good faith estimate of the expected hourly pay rate for this position in our California office that the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position upon hire is $50-55/hr. Pay is determined based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, depth of experience in the practice area. Employees are eligible to participate in Hitachi America’s variable pay program, subject to the program’s conditions and restrictions.
Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE)-Females/Minorities/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
If you need a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job at Hitachi, please send the nature of request and contact information to accommodation@hal.hitachi.com. Queries other than accommodation requests will not be responded to.
CPT Energy Job Roles in California
See all Energy CPT Jobs in California
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Search Energy Jobs in CaliforniaEnergy CPT Sponsorship Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions
Which energy companies in California are known to sponsor F-1 CPT visas?
Large utilities and energy firms that have participated in CPT arrangements in California include Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, NextEra Energy, and Chevron. Renewable energy developers and cleantech startups concentrated in the Bay Area and Los Angeles have also worked with F-1 CPT students, particularly for engineering, data science, and sustainability analysis roles. CPT authorization always requires coordination between your school's DSO and the employer.
Which California cities have the most F-1 CPT energy sponsorship jobs?
San Francisco and the broader Bay Area lead for cleantech, grid technology, and energy software roles. Los Angeles has significant activity in solar development and energy policy, driven partly by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and private developers. San Diego is strong for clean energy research, with ties to UC San Diego and national laboratories like Scripps. Sacramento concentrates utility and regulatory roles given its proximity to state government agencies including the California Energy Commission.
What types of energy roles typically qualify for F-1 CPT sponsorship in California?
Roles that commonly align with F-1 CPT in California's energy sector include electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, environmental science, energy systems analysis, grid operations, power electronics, and data analytics applied to energy management. Research-oriented positions at national laboratories such as Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory also frequently align with CPT-eligible coursework. The role must be directly related to your degree program, which your Designated School Official will verify before authorizing CPT.
How do I find energy F-1 CPT sponsorship jobs in California?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for international students searching for visa-compatible jobs, including F-1 CPT energy roles in California. You can filter by state, visa type, and industry to surface positions from employers that have historically worked with CPT students. Because CPT eligibility depends on your school and degree program, cross-reference any role you find on Migrate Mate with your DSO to confirm the position qualifies before accepting an offer.
Are there California-specific considerations for F-1 CPT in the energy industry?
California's energy sector is shaped by state mandates requiring 100% clean electricity by 2045, which concentrates hiring in solar, storage, and grid modernization. Many positions involve work with state agencies like the California Public Utilities Commission or the California Energy Commission, which can affect project timelines and role structures. CPT authorization timelines vary by university, so students should begin the process well in advance of a start date, particularly at large UC or CSU campuses where DSO queues can be longer.