Chip Simulation Software Intern

Job Title

Chip Simulation Software Intern

Role Summary

Develop, validate, and maintain simulations and analysis tools for Etched's custom inference hardware. You will work closely with hardware and software engineers across the development lifecycle to model system behavior, diagnose issues, and improve design quality.

This is a paid, 12-week in-person internship based at the San Jose, CA office (Santana Row). The program includes relocation housing support, daily office meals, and direct mentorship from experienced engineers.

Experience Level

Internship / Entry-level. Recruiting for Fall '26, Spring '27, and Summer '27 internship terms; students pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees are the expected candidates.

Responsibilities

Core responsibilities for the internship:

• Co-design, implement, and test cycle-accurate or behavioral simulations of custom hardware components.
• Build and maintain tools that engineers use to analyze simulation output and hardware logs.
• Integrate simulation models with software stacks and validation frameworks.
• Diagnose hardware/software interaction issues and propose fixes or mitigations.
• Optimize simulation performance and ensure reproducible test results.
• Document implementations, test plans, and findings; participate in design and code reviews.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and attributes:

• Proficiency in C/C++ or Rust.
• Strong fundamentals in data structures and algorithms.
• Solid low-level software engineering skills (systems programming, debugging).
• Understanding of hardware/software co-design principles.
• Effective verbal and written communication; ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with Linux internals, kernel development, or driver debugging.
• Experience interpreting hardware diagnostics and logs.
• Exposure to server virtualization, CI/CD pipelines, or embedded development.
• Prior experience with Rust in systems or embedded contexts.

Education Requirements

Progress toward a Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field (students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs for the internship term).

About the Company

Company: Etched

Headquarters: San Jose, CA, United States

Etched develops purpose-built AI inference ASICs and systems optimized for transformer models, aiming to deliver significantly higher performance, lower cost, and lower latency than GPUs. The company focuses on enabling applications like real-time video generation and advanced reasoning agents, and is backed by leading investors and engineers.