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Intern, Systems Engineering

Garden Grove, CA

About Harbinger

Harbinger is an American commercial electric vehicle (EV) company on a mission to transform an industry starving for innovation. Harbinger’s best-in-class team of EV, battery, and drivetrain experts have pooled their deep experience to bring a first-of-its-kind EV platform to support the growing demand for medium-duty EVs and Hybrids. Harbinger: Familiar Form, Revolutionary Foundation.

Internship at a Glance:

  • Location: Immerse yourself in our innovative culture! This role requires a commitment of 4 days in-office per week at our facility in Garden Grove, CA as well as full-time hours (40 hours a week).
  • Duration: 10-11 weeks (May 26 to August 7 OR June 22 to August 28)
  • Relocation Support: A $1,000 relocation stipend is available for interns currently residing more than 50 miles from Garden Grove, CA.
  • Compensation: Earn an hourly rate of $25-35 USD per hour.

Job Summary:

We are currently seeking an ambitious engineering student to join our Vehicle Systems team. As an intern, you will have various opportunities to contribute to the design, simulation, and validation of our next-generation thermal and propulsion systems. The primary responsibilities for this position will be to perform component testing on fluid flowbenches, develop high-fidelity models in MATLAB/Simulink and GT-Suite, and support functional safety analysis for critical propulsion items. The role also offers the opportunity to build valuable experience at a fast-paced, high-growth startup during a critical early product development stage.

Job Responsibilities:

As an intern on the Vehicle Systems team, you will bridge the gap between digital simulation and physical hardware. You will have the opportunity to contribute to the design and validation of thermal management and propulsion systems that define the range and performance of our vehicles.

  • Flowbench Testing: Lead the setup and execution of testing for cooling system components (pumps, valves, heat exchangers) on a fluid flowbench to characterize performance.
  • Component Testing: Design, Source, and building of component test setups for characterization of thermal system components.
  • Systems Modeling: Develop and refine 1D physical models of thermal and propulsion loops using MATLAB/Simulink and GT-Suite (GT-Drive/GT-Thermal).
  • Data Correlation: Compare experimental data from the flowbench and vehicle testing against simulation results to improve model accuracy and predictive capability.
  • Functional Safety Support: Assist in technical documentation and analysis for propulsion items, supporting HARA (Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment) and safety requirement decomposition in alignment with ISO 26262.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Powertrain, Battery, Thermal, and Software teams to ensure system-level performance targets are met.

Required Skills:

  • Enrolled in Bachelor’s degree program or greater in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related field
  • Hands-on experience with MATLAB/Simulink. Familiarity with GT-Suite or similar 1D simulation tools is highly preferred
  • Strong understanding of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer
  • Comfortable in a lab or shop environment; experience with data acquisition (DAQ) systems and sensors (pressure, temperature, flow) is a plus
  • Motivation and willingness to learn on the job
  • Ability to take ownership of a project, with guidance from the team
  • Prior experience in automotive projects is preferred, but not required
    • Collegiate teams such as Formula SAE, Baja SAE, EcoCAR, Supermileage, etc.
    • Hands-on experience working on vehicles
  • Knowledge of hybrid / electric vehicle systems and components preferred
  • Work authorized in the United States OR ability to obtain F-1 visa
Equal Opportunity
Harbinger is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information or characteristics, physical or mental disability, marital/domestic partner status, age, military/veteran status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by law.
 
Harbinger is committed to ensuring that our hiring process is accessible for persons with disabilities. If you have a disability or limitation, such as those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, that requires accommodations to assist you in the search and application process, please email us at info@harbingermotors.com.
 
Candidate Data Privacy
Harbinger may collect, use and disclose your personal information or personal data (within the meaning of the applicable data protection laws) when you apply for employment and/or participate in our recruitment processes (“Candidate Personal Data”). This data includes contact, demographic, communications, educational, professional, employment, social media/website, network/device, recruiting system usage/interaction, security and preference information. Harbinger may use your Candidate Personal Data for the purposes of (i) tracking interactions with our recruiting system; (ii) carrying out, analyzing and improving our application and recruitment process, including assessing you and your application and conducting employment, background and reference checks; (iii) establishing an employment relationship or entering into an employment contract with you; (iv) complying with our legal, regulatory and corporate governance obligations; (v) recordkeeping; (vi) ensuring network and information security and preventing fraud; and (vii) as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law.
 
Harbinger may share your Candidate Personal Data with (i) internal personnel who have a need to know such information in order to perform their duties, including individuals on our HR, legal, and finance teams, and the team(s) with the position(s) for which you are applying; (ii) Harbinger affiliates; and (iii) Harbinger’s service providers, including providers of background checks, staffing services, and cloud services.
 
Harbinger may transfer or store internationally your Candidate Personal Data, including to or in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union and in the cloud, and this data may be subject to the laws and accessible to the courts, law enforcement and national security authorities of such jurisdictions.
 
Please note that we are currently not accepting applications from third party application services. Any unsolicited resumes or candidate profiles submitted in response to our job posting shall be considered the property of Harbinger and are not subject to payment of referral or placement fees if any such candidate is later hired by Harbinger unless you have a signed written agreement in place with us which covers the applicable job posting.

 

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