Digital Design, Intern (Mountain View)

As a Digital Design Intern at Lightmatter, you will have diverse responsibilities centered around creating high-quality digital designs using System Verilog RTL. You'll collaborate with various teams to ensure that the designs meet critical performance standards while balancing latency, design area, and accuracy. You will also participate in the validation of design functionality with the design verification team and will have opportunities to automate design processes and testing workflows alongside digital design engineers.

To apply for the Digital Design Intern position at Lightmatter, candidates should ideally be enrolled in a graduate engineering program, focusing on Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field. Relevant coursework in VLSI Design, Integrated Circuits, and Digital Logic Design is essential. Proficiency in System Verilog coding is preferred, along with strong communication and teamwork skills. Familiarity with scripting languages like Python, Tcl, or Perl can certainly be an asset as well.

Absolutely! Lightmatter is dedicated to providing a comprehensive training program for our Digital Design Interns. You will have the chance to learn from experts in the field, collaborate across different teams, and gain insights into real-world projects. Our supportive environment encourages growth and development, ensuring you receive the guidance you need to excel during your internship.

Lightmatter offers a rewarding internship experience, complete with a competitive hourly rate ranging from $40 to $50 USD. Interns can also enjoy a comprehensive health care plan, retirement savings matching programs, generous time off, and paid family leave. Additionally, we provide training and development opportunities, commuter benefits, and a flexible, hybrid workplace model to accommodate your needs.

During your internship as a Digital Design Intern at Lightmatter, you will develop a robust set of skills including advanced digital design techniques using System Verilog, project collaboration, and design verification methodologies. You'll enhance your programming skills, particularly in Python, and improve your critical thinking abilities through designing optimized digital systems. This hands-on experience will fully prepare you for a successful career in digital design and engineering.

In answering this question, highlight your coursework and any practical projects where you utilized System Verilog. Showcase specific instances where you wrote code to solve problems, optimized designs, or collaborated with peers. Demonstrating a solid understanding of System Verilog will illustrate your potential as a valuable Digital Design Intern at Lightmatter.

Discuss how you analyze design specifications to determine the ideal balance between performance metrics, latency, and accuracy. Share experiences where you've made design decisions based on trade-offs and explain your method for testing and iterating on your designs to achieve the best performance.

Outline a systematic approach to validation, such as writing testbenches, conducting simulations, and collaborating with the design verification team. You can mention how effective communication and teamwork play a crucial role in ensuring the design meets specifications and functions as intended.

Select an illustrative project, explaining the challenges you faced, how you approached solving them, and the tools or programming languages you used. Show your problem-solving skills, perseverance, and ability to work in a team. Be honest about what you learned from that experience.

A great way to answer this question is to mention the use of project management techniques such as deadline tracking and task prioritization methods. Discuss how you stay organized and how you communicate with your team to ensure alignment on project timelines and deliverables.

Express your genuine enthusiasm for Lightmatter’s mission of using light in computing and its innovative approach to AI data centers. Share how the intersection of technology and creativity at Lightmatter aligns with your passion and career aspirations in the digital design field.

Discuss how collaboration enhances design quality and innovation. Provide examples of how working with cross-functional teams can lead to improved problem-solving, creativity, and efficient workflow. Emphasizing your ability to contribute and thrive in a team setting is key.

List any programming languages relevant to the Digital Design Intern role, such as Python, Tcl, or Perl. Provide specific examples of projects or tasks where you utilized these languages, demonstrating your ability to automate processes or contribute to design efficiencies.

Mention specific resources such as online courses, webinars, and industry publications that you follow. You could also discuss any relevant forums or groups you’re part of, as well as any conferences or events you've attended that relate to digital design and technology advancements.

Share your desire to deepen your technical skills, expand your understanding of digital design processes, and learn from industry-leading professionals at Lightmatter. You could also express your eagerness to contribute to innovative projects and to gain valuable exposure to real-world applications of your education.