Energy Optimization Internship Jobs in California

Manufacturing Engineering Intern 

Location: Burlingame, CA 

Department: Manufacturing Engineering 

Reports To: Manufacturing Equipment Engineering Manager 

Position Type: Internship (3, 6, or 9 months available) 

About the Company 

Peak Energy is the first American venture to advance globally proven Sodium-Ion battery systems as the storage standard for the new era of renewable energy on a resilient grid. 

Sodium-Ion is cheap, readily available, and safe, making it a leading contender in a rapidly evolving market. 

Our leadership team is powered by decades of expertise in scaling gigawatt-level innovation at world-class companies such as Tesla, Northvolt, SunPower, Fluence, and Enovix. We are backed by strategic investment and product partners such as TDK Ventures and Eclipse Ventures. 

We are a team of engineers, operators, entrepreneurs, and partners driven by a shared ambition to set the new performance standard for renewable energy and grid resilience. 

About the Job 

Peak Energy is seeking a motivated Manufacturing Engineering Intern to support the development, deployment, and optimization of manufacturing equipment across our current operations and future factory expansions. 

Day to day, you will partner closely with cross-functional teams including Process, Quality, Design, Manufacturing, and Engineering Technicians to help deliver fully operational, production-ready manufacturing lines. This is a highly hands-on role that will give you direct exposure to Peak Energy's work scaling ESS production toward 1 GWh/year capacity by 2027. 

One day you might be helping develop a vision-based inspection system in the lab; another, you could be out on the pilot line working alongside engineers and technicians to troubleshoot equipment, improve tooling, or engineer a manufacturing process that can scale to commercial production. 

You'll have the opportunity to own meaningful projects, solve real manufacturing problems, and see your work move from concept and prototype through deployment on the production floor. 

If you want to actually contribute as part of the team, not just observe from the sidelines, we'd love for you to apply. 

Responsibilities 

• Support the design, development, installation, commissioning, and continuous improvement of manufacturing equipment. 

• Own projects end-to-end - such as fixture design, tooling improvements, equipment modifications, or process documentation - with guidance from senior engineers. 

• Work directly with engineers and technicians to troubleshoot equipment and production issues, identify root causes, and implement improvements. 

• Support the transition of products and processes from low-volume prototype builds to scalable, full-scale manufacturing. 

• Collaborate with Process Engineering to refine, industrialize, and deploy scalable manufacturing processes. 

• Support pilot-line production optimization efforts focused on improving throughput, quality, yield, reliability, and repeatability. 

• Collect and analyze production and equipment data to identify opportunities for process and equipment improvements. 

• Participate in hands-on testing, validation, and iteration of manufacturing equipment, fixtures, tooling, and processes. 

• Collaborate across Manufacturing, Process, Quality, and Design Engineering to ensure equipment and processes are production-ready. 

Minimum Qualifications 

• Pursuing or recently completed a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related engineering field. 

• Strong understanding of mechanical design fundamentals, including materials, GD&T, drafting standards, and engineering calculations. 

• Experience with mechanical CAD tools such as 3DEXPERIENCE, SolidWorks, Siemens NX, or similar. 

• Hands-on experience building, testing, troubleshooting, or modifying mechanical systems through coursework, student projects, internships, research, or personal projects. 

• Strong verbal, written, and presentation skills. 

• Detail-oriented with the ability to manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced engineering environment. 

• Available to work onsite in Burlingame, CA for a 3-, 6-, or 9-month internship term. 

• Eligible to work in the U.S. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Previous manufacturing, equipment design, automation, or industrial engineering internship or project experience. 

• Basic knowledge of machine safety standards and regulatory requirements. 

• Familiarity with automation architectures, sensors, actuators, controls, and PLC-based systems. 

• Exposure to Design for Manufacturability (DFM) principles. 

• Experience designing or fabricating fixtures, tooling, prototypes, or mechanical assemblies. 

• Familiarity with manufacturing metrics such as cycle time, throughput, yield, OEE, or equipment uptime. 

Peak Energy Core Values 

• Speed Through Focus: Prioritize what matters most and execute quickly without distractions. 

• Mission Over Self: Put the company's mission and team success ahead of individual interests. 

• Face the Brutal Truth: Embrace honesty, even when it's uncomfortable, to make informed decisions. 

• Be a Good Person: Treat everyone with respect and integrity, fostering a positive and ethical work environment. 

Compensation and Benefits 

The pay for this role is $30-$35/hour. You'll gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge energy storage technology and mentorship from experienced manufacturing engineers while contributing directly to Peak Energy's mission to scale sustainable battery manufacturing. 

At Peak Energy Technologies Inc., we believe that a diverse and inclusive workplace makes us a more capable, innovative, and competitive company. We welcome people who represent diversity in their backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures, and experiences. Peak Energy Technologies Inc. is an equal opportunity employer, aiming to reach our company's full potential by cultivating an inclusive workforce. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, citizenship, marital or family status, disability, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other legally protected status.