Research Intern - Thin Films

About Periodic Labs

We’re an AI and physical sciences company building state-of-the-art models to accelerate breakthroughs across materials, energy, and beyond. Backed by world-class investors and growing rapidly, we operate at the pace the frontier requires. Our team brings deep expertise, genuine ownership, and an insatiable drive to push the boundaries of what’s scientifically possible.

About the Role

Periodic Labs is developing AI that can both simulate science and verify its predictions to train on the full scientific method. A central challenge in that mission is connecting materials discovery with real, scalable device-relevant form factors. Materials our AI predicts and our lab synthesizes must ultimately be validated through thin films, patterned structures, and device-relevant process flows for applications across semiconductors, memory, photonics, and advanced materials.

We are looking for a hands-on Research Intern with experience in cleanroom-based microfabrication or nanofabrication. This person should have practical exposure to lithography, deposition, and etch processes for silicon-based microelectronic, photonic, MEMS, or optical devices.

In this role, you will support process development and experimental execution while contributing to the buildout of Periodic’s internal thin-film and nanofabrication capabilities. Your work will help generate high-quality experimental data that feeds directly into our AI training pipeline.

What You’ll Do

• Execute hands-on nanofabrication processes for silicon-based microelectronic, photonic, MEMS, or optical devices, including lithography, thin-film deposition, etch, substrate preparation, and related cleanroom workflows.

• Support lithography processes such as spin coating, baking, mask alignment, exposure, development, lift-off, and optical inspection.

• Operate or support thin-film deposition processes such as sputtering, evaporation, PVD, PLD, ALD, PECVD, or related techniques.

• Run or assist with etch processes such as wet etching, plasma etching, RIE, ICP-RIE, or other dry etch workflows.

• Prepare substrates, manage process flows, track samples, and maintain detailed experimental records that meet the metadata and data quality standards required for AI training.

• Perform basic structural, optical, electrical, or morphological characterization, potentially including profilometry, ellipsometry, SEM, optical microscopy, XRD/XRR, 4-point probe, or related metrology.

• Work with senior scientists and engineers to troubleshoot process issues, identify failure modes, and iterate on recipes or workflows.

• Collaborate with materials science, AI, and automation teams to connect fabrication results with model predictions and experimental planning.

• Follow rigorous laboratory safety and facility protocols, including those required by external shared cleanroom facilities.

You Will Thrive in This Role If You Have

• Currently pursuing or recently completed a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in electrical engineering, materials science, applied physics, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, chemistry, or a related field.

• Hands-on experience in a university cleanroom, nanofabrication facility, semiconductor lab, photonics lab, MEMS lab, or related research environment.

• Practical exposure to lithography, deposition, and etch processes. You do not need to be equally deep in every module, but you should understand how these steps connect in a device fabrication flow.

• Experience working with silicon-based microelectronic, photonic, MEMS, optical, or semiconductor devices.

• Comfort spending real time at tools, following cleanroom protocols, logging process details, and learning new equipment quickly.

• Strong documentation habits and attention to detail. You record what actually happened in the experiment, not just what was intended.

• Ability to work independently in shared research facilities while escalating issues appropriately and learning from senior team members.

Especially Strong Candidates May Also Have

• Experience with full or partial device fabrication flows involving lithography, deposition, etch, and characterization.

• Hands-on experience with specific tools or techniques such as mask aligners, spin coaters, sputtering, evaporation, ALD, PECVD, RIE, ICP-RIE, profilometry, ellipsometry, SEM, or 4-point probe.

• Experience fabricating silicon photonics, MEMS, optoelectronic devices, sensors, thin-film devices, or other micro/nanoscale structures.

• Experience working in shared cleanroom environments, including completing facility-specific safety training, navigating tool reservation systems, and operating within shared-use norms.

• Exposure to functional materials in thin-film or device form, including oxides, nitrides, metals, semiconductors, superconductors, magnetics, ferroelectrics, or multilayer stacks.

• Interest in working at the intersection of experimental science, nanofabrication, and AI-driven discovery.

Mechanics

Location: Menlo Park, CA. This role is expected to be on-site, with work taking place at Periodic’s lab and external cleanroom facilities in the Bay Area.

Term: Internship / fixed-term position.

Compensation: Competitive and based on experience.

Visa sponsorship: We sponsor visas and will do everything we can to assist in this process with our legal support.