What to Expect

Consider before submitting an application:  

This position is expected to start around January or February 2025 and continue through the entire Spring term (i.e. through May 2025) or into Spring/Summer 2025 if available. We ask for a minimum of 12 weeks, full-time and on-site, for most internships. 

International Students: If your work authorization is through CPT, please consult your school on your ability to work 40 hours per week before applying. You must be able to work 40 hours per week on-site. Many students will be limited to part-time during the academic year.  

 Internship Program at Tesla  

The Internship Recruiting Team is driven by the passion to recognize and develop emerging talent. Our year-round program places the best students in positions where they will grow technically, professionally, and personally through their experience working closely with their Manager, Mentor, and team. We are dedicated to providing an experience that allows the intern to experience life at Tesla by including them in projects that are critical to their team’s success. 

The Cell Qualification team develops test methods to characterize and qualify cell designs for all Tesla products. Our mission is to help Tesla make the best cell technology decisions rapidly and with confidence. This position will collaborate with various teams within Cell Engineering to understand test lab operations and help optimize them. A successful candidate will apply first-principles thinking to improve the framework that is used to qualify every cell design, and knowledge of software tools to help implement it. We are looking for a self-motivated candidate with an interest in battery technology, and who thrives in a fast-paced environment.  

Multiple Locations Possible: Palo Alto, CA; San Diego, CA 

What You’ll Do

Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand testing requirements and timelines 

Design and implement test profile for targeted cell requirements with first-principle understanding of battery behavior and fleet representativeness 

Implement data parser to for automatic data analysis and establish data pipelines to link the designed test to database  

Participate in team meetings, seek feedback, and gain hands-on experience in full-stack development and the project management lifecycle 

Quantify error for test, determine methods to reduce this error, and implement these methods in our standard operating procedure  

Work closely with technicians to reduce complexity of testing procedures while maintaining or improving accuracy and precision of the measurement  

Hands on lab testing  

Analyze electrochemical data to determine measurement accuracy and precision  

Work closely with modeling team to provide testing framework and results that can be consumed by and compared to existing model  

Create a script in Python that can take in image files and output key test metrics 

What You’ll Bring

Currently pursuing a degree in Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, Nano Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Computer Science or a related field 

Programming experience with Python  

Experience writing Python scripts for data processing and analysis 

Experience with designing/prototyping/testing lab equipment, and PCB design 

Direct experience working with Li-ion batteries 

Previous internship experience in an R&D environment (or equivalent) 

Significant, demonstrated technical contributions towards past projects 

First principles understanding of engineering concepts with relevant project/research experience 

Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written 

Ability to work independently on multiple projects with complex requirements

Palo Alto, California

Intern/Apprentice