Intern, ASIC Backend Automation

Intern, ASIC Backend Automation

Term: May through August, 2026

Department: Engineering

Please note:

Position location is on-site in San Jose Office

There is no immigration (except for F1) or relocation support for this position

Posting expires upon application threshold

Job Summary

Ayar Labs is exploring the cutting edge of AI-driven Electronic Design Automation (EDA) to optimize the quality, efficiency, and cost of our next-generation silicon. Our design team is currently investigating open-source AI solutions to revolutionize standard physical design workflows. We are looking for a motivated undergraduate or graduate intern to join our team, where you will lead the evaluation and deployment of a reinforcement learning-based chip design AI model.

Essential Functions:

Explore the capabilities of the AI model framework, adapting it to our specific design constraints and benchmarking it against our existing commercial EDA tools.

Analyze the impact of AI-driven macro placement on Power, Performance, and Area (PPA) metrics.

Projects are tailored to your technical strengths, and you will be mentored by senior physical design engineers as you help determine the strategic viability of incorporating the AI model into our production flow.

Basic Qualifications:

Actively pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent.

Strong programming skills in Python; familiarity with ML frameworks (specifically JAX, TensorFlow, or PyTorch) is a strong plus.

Familiarity with Reinforcement Learning (RL) concepts and/or VLSI physical design fundamentals (specifically floorplanning, placement, and routing).

Experience with Linux environments and basic scripting for automation.

The ideal candidate is an independent and highly motivated researcher who is comfortable digesting technical papers and translating them into practical engineering experiments.

Pay Range: $44.00 to $55.00 / Hour

Recruiters:

Principal applicants only. We are not accepting resumes from recruiters for this position. Remuneration for recruiting activities is only applicable subject to a signed and executed agreement between the parties. Please don’t send candidates to Ayar Labs, and do not contact our managers.

About Ayar Labs:

At Ayar Labs we’re about to revolutionize computing by moving data with light. We’re unleashing processing power for artificial intelligence, high performance computing, cloud and telecommunications by removing the bottlenecks created by today’s electrical I/O -- making it possible to continue scaling computing system performance. Ayar Labs is the first to deliver an optical I/O solution that combines in-package optical I/O chiplets and multi-wavelength remote light sources to replace traditional electrical I/O. This silicon photonics-based I/O solution enables chips to communicate with each other from millimeters to kilometers, to deliver orders of magnitude improvements in latency, bandwidth density, and power consumption.

With our strong collaborations with industry leaders and government, our deep ties to MIT and UC Berkeley, and our commitment to hiring the best engineers in photonics and electronics, joining our team gives you the opportunity to collaborate with renowned experts on challenging, paradigm-shifting work.

We are passionate about delivering in-package optical I/O at scale, leveraging the strength of our patent portfolio and our team of leading interdisciplinary experts. We believe that deep cross-collaboration between teams facilitated by honest, open debate is the best way to drive innovation and achieve big wins. Join our team and experience the possibilities.

Ayar Labs is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and is strongly committed to all policies which will afford equal opportunity employment to all qualified persons without regard to age, sex, national origin, race, color, ethnicity, creed, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. It is the policy of Ayar Labs to provide reasonable accommodation when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless such accommodation would cause an undue hardship. Veterans are more than welcome and encouraged to apply.