Systems Engineering Intern - Architecture & Trade Studies (m/w/d)

Job Description

Plug Power Inc. is seeking a highly motivated Systems Engineering Intern to support early- to mid-stage system design activities for PEM fuel cell products during Summer 2026. This role is focused on system architecture development, design studies, and trade-off analysis, aligned with the left-hand side of the systems engineering V-model.

The intern will work with the engineering team and system-level models to explore architectural decisions, evaluate sensitivities, and assess design robustness across varying customer applications. Emphasis will be placed on probabilistic methods, including sensitivity analysis and Monte Carlo-type simulations..

Learning Objectives

In this role, the intern will:

• Gain hands-on experience applying systems engineering principles to system architecture and concept development
• Learn how architectural decisions are evaluated using structured trade studies and quantitative analysis
• Develop familiarity with system-level modeling tools used to explore performance, constraints, and sensitivities
• Understand the use of probabilistic and statistical approaches to requirement satisfaction and design robustness
• Learn how customer applications and usage profiles influence system design decisions
• Build technical communication skills by documenting and presenting trade study results and recommendations

Core Duties and Responsibilities

The Systems Engineering Intern will:

• Support development and refinement of system architecture concepts for PEM fuel cell systems
• Build, modify, or execute system-level models to explore design sensitivities and performance trade-offs
• Perform parametric and sensitivity analyses to understand the impact of key design variables
• Support development and execution of Monte Carlo or probabilistic simulations to assess requirement satisfaction across distributions of inputs and operating conditions
• Assist in evaluating how different customer application profiles affect system performance and margins
• Document assumptions, methods, results, and conclusions from trade studies in a clear and traceable manner
• Support preparation of technical presentations and design review materials to communicate findings and recommendations

Education and Qualification

• Pursuing a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline
• Strong interest in system modeling, simulation, and quantitative analysis
• Familiarity with statistics, probability, or numerical methods is a plus
• Experience or coursework involving MATLAB, Simulink, Python, or similar modeling tools is desirable
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail
• Comfortable working with ambiguity and exploring multiple solution paths
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Self-motivated with a strong sense of curiosity and follow-through
• Must have reliable transportation to the office

Estimated Base Salary Range:

$21.00 - $25.00