Graduate Internship

About the Role

NLR is seeking a Graduate or Ph.D. student intern to support research in power grid operation and optimization within the Grid Automation and Controls Group of the Power Systems and Engineering Center (PSEC). This is a fixed-term internship with a duration of 3-12 months.

Key Responsibilities

• Support research in power grid operation and optimization.
• Develop energy management strategies related to ADMS, DERMS, microgrid controls, and home energy management systems.
• Develop optimization schemes or data-driven controls for grid reliability and resilience.
• Develop grid automation and control schemes.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Must be enrolled as a full-time student in a Master's degree program or have completed a Master's degree and be enrolled as a PhD student in an accredited institution.
• Minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.
• Relevant Master or Ph.D. candidate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related fields.
• Experience in power system modeling, optimization, and control.
• Experience in at least one of the following power system software tools: OpenDSS, PSCAD, PSS/E.
• Experience in at least one of the following optimization solvers and platforms: CPLEX, CVXPY, Pyomo, GAMS.
• Proficiency in Matlab or Python programming.
• Proven record of publishing research work in prestigious journals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiar with demand response, virtual power plant, DER management.
• Familiar with grid resilience.
• Familiar with optimization solvers and packages (e.g., GAMS, Gurobi, CPLEX).
• Proficiency in programming.
• R&D work related to LLM/agentic AI is a plus.
• Excellent writing and verbal communication skills.

Note: Applicants are responsible for uploading official or unofficial school transcripts. A letter of recommendation will be required if selected. Educational requirements must be met prior to the employment start date.