UIUC Research Park Intern - Computation Methods, Thermal Analysis

Rivianis on a mission to keep the world adventurous forever. This goes for the emissions-free Electric Adventure Vehicles we build, and the curious, courageous souls we seek to attract.

As a company, we constantly challenge what’s possible, never simply accepting what has always been done. We reframe old problems, seek new solutions and operate comfortably in areas that are unknown. Our backgrounds are diverse, but our team shares a love of the outdoors and a desire to protect it for future generations.

Internship Term:
Spring 2027

Rivian internships are experiences optimized for student candidates. To be eligible, you must be an undergraduate or graduate student in an accredited program during the internship term with an expected graduation date between December 2027 through May 2029. Rivian's Internship Program requires active student enrollment. Information regarding your expected degree completion date is collected solely to verify eligibility and determine your availability for future full-time opportunities.

Rivian is an equal opportunity employer and does not use graduation dates to determine the age of applicants or as a basis for discriminatory hiring decisions.

If you are not pursuing a degree, please see our full time positions on our Rivian careers site.

Note that if your university has specific requirements for internship programs, it is your responsibility to fulfill those requirements.

No Visa Sponsorship

In this role, you will assist in developing computational methods for flow and thermal simulations. The project(s) will primarily focus on one or more of the following: scientific computing, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of multiphase flows, finite-element analysis (FEA) of thermal components, 0D/1D simulation of thermo-fluid systems, reduced-order modeling (ROM), numerical heat transfer and thermodynamics, computational geometry, meta modeling, data analysis, calibration, machine learning (ML), process automation, and optimization.

• Perform multiphase CFD simulations for motor cooling using in-house/commercial tools.
• Develop in-house multiphase CFD solvers.
• Conduct conjugate heat transfer FE analysis of motor using in-house/commercial tools.
• Develop in-house FE solvers for thermal simulations.
• Develop reduced-order models for physics-based simulations of flow and thermal systems.
• Apply computational geometry techniques to develop, modify, and analyze engineering designs.
• Develop scripts to streamline product development and automate workflows.
• Use data analysis, meta-modeling, and machine learning to enhance simulation efficiency.
• Perform design optimization through simulation-driven analysis.

• Must be currently pursuing a masters or PhD degree at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.
• Actively pursuing a degree or one closely related in Engineering
• Strong background in mathematical analysis, scientific computing, and algorithm development.
• Proficiency in programming: C/C++, Fortran, MATLAB, Python, etc.
• Experience in high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud computing.
• Proficiency in multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD).
• Expertise in finite-element (FE) thermal analysis.
• Experience in statistical methods: data analysis, machine learning (ML), and artificial intelligence (AI).
• Must be enrolled at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.
• Must be able to work out of our office at Research Park.
• Must be available for 20 hours per week in the Fall and Spring and 40 hours in the summer.
• This project will require a weekly task status update and a monthly project update

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The salary range for this role is $/hr for Illinois based applicants. This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we…