FPGA Development Intern — Fall 2026 (SystemVerilog & UVM)

Job Title

FPGA Development Intern — Fall 2026 (SystemVerilog & UVM)

Role Summary

Contribute to FPGA design and verification for optical networking products on a hardware engineering team. The role focuses on SystemVerilog RTL development, UVM-based verification, implementation support, and lab bring-up under mentorship.

Experience Level

Entry-level internship; no prior full-time professional experience required.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include:

• Develop and modify RTL in SystemVerilog for FPGA implementation.
• Author and maintain UVM testbenches and directed/random verification tests.
• Run simulations, debug failures, and analyze waveforms and logs.
• Support synthesis and implementation flows and constraint development.
• Participate in hardware bring-up, lab debugging, and integration testing.
• Document design and verification work and participate in design/review meetings.

Requirements

Core technical skills and behaviors expected:

• Practical experience with SystemVerilog and UVM for verification (must-have).
• Familiarity with FPGA toolflows (synthesis/place-and-route) and version control systems.
• Basic scripting ability (Python, TCL, or similar) for test automation and tool integration.
• Strong written and verbal communication; ability to collaborate across teams.
• Self-motivated, detail-oriented, and receptive to mentorship and feedback.
• Nice-to-have: experience with Vivado/Quartus, ModelSim/Questa, or domain knowledge of optical networking.

Education Requirements

Pursuing a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering. The posting specifies foundational knowledge of circuit design. This is a Fall 2026 internship opportunity.

About the Company

Company: Ciena

Headquarters: Hanover, MD, United States

Global networking systems, services and software company that designs and supplies optical and packet networking, network automation, and software-defined networking solutions for telecommunications service providers and enterprises.