Research Intern, Knowledge Engineering & Generative AI

Job Description

Research Intern, Knowledge Engineering & Generative AI

Company: Hitachi America, Ltd.

Division: R&D / Industrial AI Laboratory

Location: Santa Clara, CA

Status: Intern, Full-Time

Duration: 3 Months (January - March 2027)

The Company

About Hitachi America, Ltd.

Hitachi America, Ltd. is the regional headquarters for Hitachi Group companies in the Americas, overseeing the U.S., Canada, and Latin America markets. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Hitachi Americas has been deeply committed to its Social Innovation Business since its establishment in 1959, addressing society's most pressing challenges through innovative solutions. Leveraging its expertise and resources, Hitachi Americas and its subsidiary companies operate across diverse sectors, including transportation, energy, mobility, industrial manufacturing, healthcare, digital engineering, data analytics and others. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, Hitachi Americas remains at the forefront of pioneering solutions that shape the future. For further details, please visit https://www.hitachi.us/.
About Hitachi, Ltd. 

Through its Social Innovation Business (SIB) that brings together IT, OT(Operational Technology) and products, Hitachi aims to be a global leader in continuously transforming social infrastructure through digital, contributing to a harmonized society where the environment, wellbeing, and economic growth are in balance.  Hitachi operates worldwide across four sectors – Digital Systems & Services, Energy, Mobility, and Connective Industries – as well as a Strategic SIB Business Unit focused on new growth areas. With Lumada at its core, Hitachi creates value by combining data, technology and domain knowledge to solve customer and social challenges. Revenues for FY2025 (ended March 31, 2026) totaled 10,586.7 billion yen, with 606 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 290,000 employees worldwide. Visit us at www.hitachi.com.

Summary

Hitachi America, Ltd. has openings for Research Interns in the Industrial AI Laboratory located in Silicon Valley. The laboratory develops innovative AI technologies and intelligent systems for industrial infrastructure, manufacturing, mobility, energy, and supply chain applications.

We are seeking a highly motivated intern to help develop a next-generation AI-powered knowledge platform that integrates engineering knowledge, operational technology (OT) knowledge, technical documents, simulation assets, and domain expertise. This platform will support intelligent search, knowledge discovery, AI-assisted reasoning, and agentic AI systems for industrial applications.

The successful candidate will work on technologies spanning Generative AI, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), Knowledge Graphs, Agentic AI, Information Retrieval, and Enterprise Knowledge Systems. You will collaborate with researchers and engineers to design and prototype solutions that help AI systems discover, connect, and utilize complex engineering knowledge.

More information about Hitachi Industrial AI research can be found at:

https://www.hitachi.com/rd/sc/aiblog/index.html

Required Qualifications

• Pursuing a Master's or Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Information Science, Software Engineering, or a related field.
• Strong programming skills in Python.
• Background in one or more of the following areas:
  • Generative AI
  • Natural Language Processing (NLP)
  • Information Retrieval
  • Machine Learning
  • Knowledge Representation
• Experience with Large Language Models (LLMs).
• Familiarity with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), embeddings, vector databases, or semantic search technologies.
• Ability to rapidly build prototypes and proof-of-concept systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Knowledge Graphs, Ontologies, Graph Databases, or Knowledge Engineering.
• Experience with Agentic AI, AI Assistants, or Multi-Agent Systems.
• Experience integrating AI systems with external tools, APIs, databases, or enterprise data sources.
• Experience processing large collections of structured and unstructured documents.
• Research publications, open-source contributions, or relevant project experience.

Desired Characteristics

• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Self-motivated team player who thrives in a dynamic research environment.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Passion for applying AI to real-world industrial challenges.

Our Values

We are proud to say we are an equal opportunity employer and welcome all applicants for employment without attention to any factor that doesn’t impact your ability to do the job, including race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. We are proud of Japanese heritage, with our values expressed through the Hitachi Spirit:

Wa – Harmony, Trust, Respect

Makoto – Sincerity, Fairness, Honesty, Integrity

Kaitakusha-Seishin – Pioneering Spirit, Challenge

For California only (as required by California’s Pay Transparency for Pay Equity Act (SB 1162): A good faith estimate of the expected hourly pay rate for this position in our California office that the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position upon hire is $45-50/hr. Pay is determined based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, depth of experience in the practice area. Employees are eligible to participate in Hitachi America’s variable pay program, subject to the program’s conditions and restrictions.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)-Females/Minorities/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

Protected veterans and qualified individuals with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access the Hitachi Energy career site as a result of your disability. You may request reasonable accommodations by completing a general inquiry form on our website. Please include your contact information and specific details about your required accommodation to support you during the job application process.

This is solely for job seekers with disabilities requiring accessibility assistance or an accommodation in the job application process. Messages left for other purposes will not receive a response.

Use of Al and automated tools in recruitment

As part of our recruitment process, Hitachi Energy uses digital and automated tools, including Al-supported solutions, to assist with activities such as application screening, job matching, and interview scheduling. These tools are designed to support our recruiters and do not replace human decision-making. Candidate data is processed in accordance with applicable data protection and employment laws as well as Hitachis Global Data Privacy Notice.