Solar Hardware Engineering Intern (Electrical & Optical Design, Winter/Spring 2027)

Quick Facts

• Role: Solar Hardware Engineering Intern (Electrical & Optical Design)

• Start/Duration: Expected start January 2027; through the Winter/Spring term (through April/May 2026) or into Summer 2027 if available

• Schedule: Minimum 12 weeks, full-time (40 hours/week), on-site

• Location: Palo Alto, CA

Description

As an intern on the Electrical and Optical Design team, you will help advance energy modeling for solar products—especially improving soiling-loss prediction using business value metrics and validating against fleet and climate datasets. You will assess and implement additional climate factors, analyze large datasets to evaluate model performance, identify root causes of gaps, and model the impact of product improvements on energy yield. You will collaborate on field testing and data collection to generate insights on where improvements create the greatest gains.

Responsibilities

• Assess and implement additional climate factors for better soiling prediction

• Analyze large fleet datasets to evaluate model performance

• Root cause gaps in model performance (e.g., panel model, climate data, system controls) and prioritize improvements

• Collaborate with team members on product improvement field testing and data collection

• Model impact of product improvements after analyzing performance data

Requirements

• Pursuing a degree in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Data Analytics, Computer Science, or related field

• Coding (especially Python) and numerical modeling experience

• Data analysis, visualizing large datasets, and image processing

• Good understanding of fundamental physics for solar cell operation, including reflection, transmission, absorption, and scattering

• Prior laboratory experience testing and characterizing solar panels

• Basic knowledge of environmental monitoring and analysis

• Work authorization aligned with internship requirements (e.g., CPT students must consult their school) and ability to work 40 hours/week

Benefits

• Medical plans with plan options and $0 payroll deduction

• Family-building, fertility, adoption and surrogacy benefits

• Dental and vision plans (including an option with $0 payroll contribution)

• Company-paid 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 (90-day waiting period)

• Employee Assistance Program

• Sick and Vacation time (Flex time for salary positions), and Paid Holidays

• Back-up childcare and parenting support resources

• Voluntary benefits: critical illness, hospital indemnity, accident insurance, theft & legal services, and pet insurance

• Commuter benefits; employee discounts and perks program

• Expected compensation: $20.00–$50.00/hour + benefits (varies by factors including location and experience)