Silicon Engineering Intern, PhD, Summer 2026

Minimum qualifications:

• Currently pursuing a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• Research or project experience in at least one of the following areas of silicon engineering such as Architecture and Digital Design: computer architecture, microarchitecture, logic design, or RTL design (SystemVerilog, Verilog, VHDL), Design Verification: creating testbenches and validation plans, formal verification, or assertion-based verification, Physical Design and Circuits: synthesis, place-and-route, timing closure, custom circuit design, or power/signal integrity analysis, Pre/Post-silicon validation: emulation, FPGA prototyping, or post-silicon bring-up and debug.
  
• Experience with scripting and programming languages such as Python, Tcl, Perl, or C++.

Preferred qualifications:

• Currently attending a degree program in the US and available to work full time for 12 weeks outside of university term.
  
• In penultimate academic year or returning to a degree program after completion of the internship.
  
• Experience with performance modeling, system-level simulation, or embedded systems development.
• Expertise in a specialized area, such as high-performance/low-power design techniques, memory hierarchies, machine learning accelerators, interconnects, or advanced packaging.
• Strong foundation in Design Automation (CAD/EDA), including developing and supporting design flows and infrastructure for large-scale projects. Familiarity with industry-standard EDA tools (e.g., from Synopsys, Cadence, Mentor).
• Ability to work on complex, open-ended research problems, demonstrated through publications in top-tier conferences.

About the job

The Google Cloud and AI Infrastructure team focuses on building Google's next-generation systems. The team's work is grounded in creating custom hardware, and as an intern you'll get to collaborate with engineers from various parts of the organization to influence the future of Google Cloud and the AI infrastructure by working on the foundational technology that makes it all possible. This is the hardware that powers everything from Google Cloud, to our most advanced models like Gemini.

As an intern, you will work on fundamental problems at the intersection of hardware, software, and algorithms. You will collaborate with exceptional engineers and researchers on projects that directly impact Google's custom silicon portfolio, including highly specialized AI accelerators like our Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), and complex Systems-on-a-Chip (SoCs). Your responsibilities and projects will be tailored to your expertise and could focus on any part of the system stack. This may include:

• Algorithmic Innovation: Developing and analyzing new algorithms that are deeply co-designed with our custom hardware.

• System Architecture and Modeling: Architecting and modeling future TPUs to guide critical design decisions.

• Hardware Design and Verification: Contributing to all aspects of silicon creation, from logic design and verification to VLSI physical implementation.

Google Cloud accelerates every organization’s ability to digitally transform its business and industry. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google’s technology, and tools that help developers build more sustainably. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems.

Google is and always will be an engineering company. We hire people with a broad set of technical skills who are ready to address some of technology's greatest challenges and make an impact on millions, if not billions, of users. At Google, engineers not only revolutionize search, they routinely work on massive scalability and storage solutions, large-scale applications and entirely new platforms for developers around the world. From Google Ads to Chrome, Android to YouTube, Social to Local, Google engineers are changing the world one technological achievement after another.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $106,000-$141,000. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

Responsibilities

• Responsibilities and detailed projects will be determined based on your educational background, interest, and skills.