Internship Openings

MERL is seeking a motivated and qualified individual to work on fast surrogate models for sound emission and propagation from complex vibrating structures, with applications in HVAC noise reduction. The ideal candidate will be a PhD student in engineering or related fields with a solid background in frequency-domain acoustic modeling and numerical techniques for partial differential equations (PDEs). Preferred skills include knowledge of the boundary element method (BEM), data-driven modeling, and physics-informed machine learning. Publication of the results obtained during the internship is expected. The duration is expected to be at least 3 months with a flexible start date.

MERL is seeking a motivated and qualified individual to conduct research on electric machine fault analysis and detection methods. Ideal candidates should be Ph.D. students with a solid background and publication record in one more research area on electric machines: electric and magnetic modeling, machine design and prototyping, harmonic analysis, fault detection, and predictive maintenance. Knowledge on data analysis and machine learning algorithms, and strong programming skills using Python/PyTorch are expected. Research experience on modeling and analysis of electric machines and fault diagnosis is desired. Senior Ph.D. students in related expertise, such as electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and applied physics are encouraged to apply. Start date for this internship is flexible and the duration is 3 months.

MERL is seeking a motivated and qualified intern to conduct research on shape and topology optimization of electrical machines. The ideal candidate should have a solid background and demonstrated research experience in mathematical optimization methods, including topology optimization, robust optimization, and sensitivity analysis, as well as machine learning methods. Hands-on coding experience with the implementation of topology optimization algorithms and finite-element simulation are desirable. Knowledge and experience with electric machine principle, design and finite-element analysis is a strong plus. Senior Ph.D. students in related expertise are encouraged to apply. Start date for this internship is flexible and the duration is around 3 months.

MERL is looking for a highly motivated and qualified candidate to work on stochastic control for grid-interactive net-zero energy buildings informed by deep generative models. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of optimization-based control with expertise demonstrated via, e.g., publications, in stochastic model predictive control.

Additional understanding of energy systems and machine learning is a plus. Hands-on programming experience with numerical optimization solvers and Python fluency is required. The results of this 3-6 month internship are expected to be published in top-tier energy systems and/or control venues.

MERL is seeking a motivated graduate student to research methods for state and parameter estimation and optimization of large-scale systems for process applications. Representative applications include large vapor-compression cycles and other multiphysical systems for energy conversion that couple thermodynamic, fluid, and electrical domains. The ideal candidate would have a solid background in control and estimation, numerical methods, and optimization; strong programming skills and experience with Julia/Python/Matlab are also expected. Knowledge of the fundamental physics of thermofluid flows (e.g., thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics), nonlinear dynamics, or equation-oriented languages (Modelica, gPROMS) is a plus. The expected duration of this internship is 3 months.

MERL is looking for a highly motivated and qualified candidate to work on estimation and calibration of muti-physical systems governed by differential algebraic equations (DAEs). The research will involve study, development and efficient implementation of estimation/calibration approaches for large-scale nonlinear systems, e.g., vapor compression cycles, with limited experimental data. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in one or multiple of the following topics: nonlinear control and estimation, optimization, and model calibration; with expertise demonstrated via, e.g., peer-reviewed publications. Prior experience in working with experimental data, and programming in Julia/Modelica is a plus. Senior PhD students in mechanical, electrical, chemical engineering or related fields are encouraged to apply. The typical duration of internship is 3 months, and the start date is flexible.

Required Specific Experience

• Graduate student with 2+ years of relevant research experience

Additional Desired Experience

• Strong programming skills in Julia or Modelica
• Prior experience in working with thermofluid systems
• Prior experience in estimation/calibration of complex nonlinear systems using experimental data

Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs, Inc. "MERL" provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, MERL complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

MERL expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of MERL’s employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.

Working at MERL requires full authorization to work in the U.S and access to technology, software and other information that is subject to governmental access control restrictions, due to export controls. Employment is conditioned on continued full authorization to work in the U.S and the availability of government authorization for the release of these items, which might include without limitation, obtaining an export license or other documentation. MERL may delay commencement of employment, rescind an offer of employment, terminate employment, and/or modify job responsibilities, compensation, benefits, and/or access to MERL facilities and information systems, as MERL deems appropriate, to ensure practical compliance with applicable employment law and government access control restrictions.

MERL is seeking a highly motivated and qualified individual to conduct research in data-driven modeling and control of vapor compression systems in the summer of 2025. The ideal candidate should have a solid background and demonstrated research experience in differential algebraic equations, optimal control and physics-informed machine learning. Knowledge of thermo-fluid systems is a plus. The intern is expected to collaborate with MERL researchers to build models, develop algorithms, and prepare manuscripts for scientific publications. Senior Ph.D. students in applied mathematics, chemical/mechanical engineering and other related areas are encouraged to apply. The expected duration of the internship is 3 months, and the start date is flexible.

MERL seeks graduate students passionate about deep learning and energy systems to contribute to the development of deep time-series forecasting models for real building energy data. The work will involve multi-domain research including deep learning model development, time-series analysis, and possibly integration with energy management systems. The methods will be implemented and evaluated using real-world datasets. The results of the internship are expected to be published in top-tier machine learning and energy systems conferences and/or journals.

Exact start date is flexible (most likely Summer 2025), with an expected duration of 3-6 months, depending on agreed scope and intermediate progress.

Required Specific Experience:

• Current or past enrollment in a PhD program in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field with a focus on Machine Learning or Energy Systems.
• 2+ years of research experience in at least some of the following areas: deep learning, time-series analysis, probabilistic machine learning, energy systems modeling.
• PyTorch fluency.
• Familiarity with real-world data wrangling.
• Experience with time-series data visualization and analysis tools.

Strong Pluses:

• Familiarity with transformer-based time-series forecasting methodologies e.g. TFT or time-series foundation models.
• Familiarity with adaptation mechanisms e.g. fine-tuning, meta-learning.

MERL seeks a qualified, highly-motivated graduate student for an internship in the area of systems-level dynamic modeling, analysis and optimal control of next-generation thermofluid systems used in heating, cooling and ventilation (HVAC) applications. HVAC systems for applications such as data centers or district heating and cooling are characterized as dynamic networks, described by a large sets of differential and algebraic equations expressing physics (conservation laws), together with discrete and continuous equations describing the action of control. These are large scale, hybrid, constrained nonlinear systems. The MS group at MERL invites qualified graduate students to join its efforts in system level dynamic modeling, analysis and especially control of these systems. The research results are expected to impact both development of new products at Mitsubishi Electric, and also be published in leading conferences and journals.

Required Specific Experience

• Strong education and experience with nonlinear differential-algebraic equations is required.
• Strong education and working knowledge of optimal and nonlinear control theory is required.
• Knowledge of mathematical methods for hybrid systems is an asset.
• Some experience with thermofluid systems is an asset.