Mechanical Engineering Intern

About Atomic Semi

Atomic Semi is building a small, fast semiconductor fab.

It’s already possible to build this with today’s technology and a few simplifications. We’ll build the tools ourselves so we can quickly iterate and improve.

We’re building a small team of exceptional, hands-on engineers to make this happen. Mechanical, electrical, hardware, computer, and process. We’ll own the stack from atoms to architecture. Our team is optimistic about the future and we want to continue pushing the limits of technology.

Smaller is better. Faster is better. Building it ourselves is better.

We believe our team and lab can build anything. We’ve set up 3D printers, a wide array of microscopes, e-beam writers, general fabrication equipment - and whatever is missing, we’ll just invent along the way.

Atomic was founded by Sam Zeloof and Jim Keller. Sam is best known for making chips in his garage, and Jim has been a leader in the semiconductor industry for the past 40 years.

About the role

We’re hiring full stack mechanical and hardware engineering interns for the winter term (January - April). We’re rebuilding the chip fabrication process from the ground-up, so you’ll be exposed to some really interesting and impactful work. Our engineering projects are highly interdisciplinary and span domains such as structures, optics, liquids, heat transfer, physics, and chemistry. As a startup, we offer interns a ton of ownership and mission-critical work.

The ideal candidate has hands-on experience working in at least one of these areas and broad exposure across other domains. Our philosophy is to get things built and tested in days or weeks, not months. Because of this, a portfolio is required to apply: show us the things you’ve actually built! If you’ve shipped a medium-to-high complexity system through a personal project or previous internship, you’d be a good fit here.

Responsibilities

• Designing, prototyping, and building semiconductor fabrication equipment

• Writing mechanical drawings and documentation

• Circuit design and electrical engineering

• Performing detailed analysis and simulations to evaluate electromechanical designs

• Working with vendors to source components and materials

Required qualifications

• Pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree or higher in engineering

• Ability to learn quickly and troubleshoot technical problems

• Hands-on prototyping experience and the ability to move through design cycles quickly

• Hands-on experience with electromechanical assembly design and analysis from coursework, internships, or personal projects

• Strong foundation in electrical engineering (KiCad/Altium, microcontrollers, embedded systems, digital circuits, etc.)

• Strong foundation in mechanical engineering (Solidworks/Onshape, simulation, materials selection, etc.)

Desired qualifications

• Familiarity with semiconductor processing— ALD, CVD, PVD, photolithography, etc.

• Experience with Python scripting and data visualization 

Working at Atomic Semi

We’re an early-stage hardware startup with solid funding, world-class advisors, and a lab/office in San Francisco, CA. 

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability or other legally protected statuses.