Hardware Engineering Intern — EV Charger Development

About HarboCharge

HarboCharge is building India's next generation of EV charging infrastructure for electric 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers and 4-wheelers. Every month, thousands of riders charge with us. Most don't realize how much engineering goes into making a charger that's safe, reliable, and affordable. That's the problem you'll help us solve.

About the role

You'll report directly to the founder and work on building the in-house prototype of one of our flagship products. This isn't a theoretical assignment. Whatever you build will go to real sites and be used by real riders. You'll see your work change how people charge. We're small, fast, and focused. You'll own big pieces of work from day one, make real decisions, and ship hardware — not sit through sprint planning meetings.

What you'll do

• Assemble the charger inside an enclosure — DIN rail mounting, AC protection, DC switching, controller wiring
• Bring up the ESP32-S3 controller with our existing firmware codebase
• Integrate with the rectifier module over CAN bus
• Test with real EV batteries at our own charging locations
• Design an improved custom PCB to replace perfboard
• Deploy and commission units at partner locations
• Document every build with schematics, test reports, BOM tracking, and photo logs
• Work directly with the founder on architecture decisions — every major design choice you make will be discussed, challenged, and owned by you

What you'll learn

By the end of 2 months, you'll have shipped a real charger used by paying customers. You'll have hands-on experience with:

• Power electronics — rectifier modules, contactor logic, insulation monitoring, DC safety
• Embedded firmware — ESP32 + RTOS, CAN bus protocols, OCPP, sensor interfacing
• EV protocols — IS 17017 (Type 6/7), GB/T 27930 BMS communication, CP/PP pilot signaling
• Mechanical + enclosure design — IP54 design, thermal management, cable management
• Supply chain — component sourcing, vendor management, BOM optimization
• Field deployment — installation, commissioning, troubleshooting in live conditions

This is the kind of experience you cannot get from a classroom, a textbook, or a typical internship at a big company where interns are given watered-down tasks. You'll be building something that matters from day one.

Must-have

• Final-year or pre-final-year B.Tech in Electronics & Communication (ECE), Electrical Engineering (EE), or Electronics & Instrumentation
• At least one hands-on project involving Arduino, ESP32, Raspberry Pi, or STM32
• Comfortable with a soldering iron, digital multimeter, and oscilloscope
• Basic understanding of AC (single and three-phase) and DC power systems
• Can read a circuit diagram and a component datasheet
• Proficient in any one programming language (Arduino-level is fine)
• Safety-conscious — this job involves working with live AC (up to 415V) and DC (up to 120V). Respect for electricity is non-negotiable.
• Available 5 days a week, physically in Bangalore, for the full 2 months

Strong nice-to-haves

• Personal GitHub with project code or write-ups
• CAN bus, Modbus, or any industrial protocol experience
• Power electronics coursework completed (Buck/Boost, PWM, MOSFET drivers)
• Any prior EV, solar, battery, or motor control project
• Member of Formula Student, Robocon, MakerSpace, IEEE Student Chapter, or similar
• Experience with KiCad, EasyEDA, or Altium
• Comfort with Linux command line, Git, basic networking

Bonus — we'll interview you first

• Built and demoed a hardware product at a hackathon
• Have written technical blog posts or made YouTube videos explaining your projects
• Know CAD tools (SolidWorks, Fusion 360) for enclosure design
• Have any experience with OCPP or EV charging standards

Who you're not

• Someone looking for remote work — this is an on-site role
• Someone who wants pure software with no hardware
• Someone who gets flustered around mains voltage — this is not the internship for you

How we work

• Small team, fast pace. Decisions are made in minutes, not meetings.
• Founder-led mentorship. You will be mentored directly by the founder, not delegated to a manager.
• Real ownership. You own what you build, end-to-end — design, assembly, testing, and field deployment.
• Ship, learn, iterate. We don't optimize for polish on the first try. We ship version 1, learn, and make version 2 better.
• AI-augmented engineering. We use modern tools (Claude, GitHub Copilot, AI simulators) to move 3× faster than traditional teams. You'll learn how to work with AI as a teammate.
• Honesty over hierarchy. If something's broken, say so. If you don't know something, say so. We fix it together.

What you'll get

Compensation

Competitive stipend paid on the 1st of every month. Completion bonus at the end of the project. Safety equipment, test gear, and tools provided. Office workspace in Bangalore.

Growth

Direct mentorship from the founder on hardware, firmware, and entrepreneurship. Full exposure to supplier negotiations, customer pilots, and product strategy. Work sessions with our partner senior engineers.

Post-internship

Certificate of Completion with project details and skills acquired. Personalized LinkedIn recommendation from the founder. Resume-worthy project: "Hardware Engineer built and deployed a production EV charger." Priority full-time offer if we're both a fit after 2 months. Introductions to our network of EV, power electronics, and startup contacts in Bangalore.

Environment

Work on something that genuinely matters for India's EV transition. See your product in the real world, used by real riders. No bureaucracy, no dead work, no fake "team-building" events.

Hiring process

We respect your time. Our process is tight. From first email to offer: typically 3 days.

Important to know

• This is an on-site role. You must be able to be in Bangalore, 5 days a week, for the full 2 months.
• We prefer candidates from Bangalore-based colleges (RVCE, BMS, Ramaiah, PES, BIT, Sir MVIT, NMIT, Dayananda Sagar, etc.), but will absolutely consider outstation candidates if you can relocate.
• Women in engineering are strongly encouraged to apply. Our hiring is based 100% on skill and fit, not background.

A note from the founder

Most internships in India are glorified documentation jobs. That's not what this is.

If you join us, you'll build a real product, talk to real customers, and make real decisions. You'll work hard — harder than most of your classmates in bigger companies. But you'll walk out with a portfolio, a network, and a set of skills that will put you years ahead in your career.

If that sounds like you, apply.