About fab2

The fab2 team can build anything. We design all the hardware and software needed to make chips and we make the fabs, tools, and components ourselves.

We're looking for exceptional, hands-on people who can iterate to the limits of what's possible.

fab2 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 an Automation Software Engineering Intern for the winter term. The internship begins in January, with a preferred commitment of 4 to 8 months. You’ll be working on an integrated engineering team building semiconductor fabrication equipment, so you’ll be exposed to some very interesting engineering problems. Our size allows interns to take on a ton of ownership and mission-critical work.

We give our interns significant autonomy on interdisciplinary projects. You’ll work on initiatives that scale and accelerate our semiconductor fabrication process and tackle challenging problems that improve our robots’ efficiency. You’re a strong fit if you’re familiar with motor controllers, path planning, and trajectory control.

Our philosophy is to get things built and tested in days or weeks, not months. Because of this, a portfolio (can be your GitHub) is required to apply: show us the things you’ve actually built! For us, a good portfolio includes evidence of software engineering excellence and curiosity.

Responsibilities

Develop real-time applications in Linux and Rust for controlling semiconductor fabrication equipment
Design algorithms and simulations for robotic control systems

Required Experience

Pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree or higher in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or similar field
Proficiency in Python/C/C++
Demonstrated experience in robotics software

Nice-to-have

Familiarity with feedback control systems
Experience developing computer vision applications
Proficiency in Rust

Working at fab2

We’re an early-stage hardware startup with solid funding, world-class advisors, and labs/offices in Austin, TX, Lockhart, TX, and San Francisco, CA. fab2 is committed to fair and equitable compensation. Software Interns are paid hourly, at a rate equivalent to an annualized range of $114,000–$131,000 depending on experience and education. Actual earnings vary with hours worked.

Internship Benefits:

Housing Stipend to help with first month expenses
Lunches daily, Dinners 3x per week, Stocked Office Kitchen with Snacks and Spindrifts
Weekly Learning & Development opportunities
Commuter Benefits including Parking and Late Night Uber rides from the office
Paid Time Off inclusive of Holidays and Sick Time
Visa Sponsorship
Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance
401(k) retirement plan
Life and Disability Insurance

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.

Export Control Analysis: This position involves access to technology that is subject to U.S. export controls. Any job offer made will be contingent upon the applicant’s capacity to serve in compliance with U.S. export controls.

fab2, formerly known as Atomic Semi

About the company

fab2 builds a software-defined semiconductor manufacturing platform. It designs and manufactures the hardware, software, and process technology needed to produce chips, including its own fabrication facilities, lithography equipment, and automation systems. Its Lockhart, Texas fab is meant to supply the tools and infrastructure to scale chip production, while its Austin and San Francisco facilities support development. fab2 is also developing Studio, a browser-based collaborative electronic design automation (EDA) environment for chip design. The company aims to enable scalable, accessible chip manufacturing and collaborative chip design by providing an integrated stack of hardware, software, process technology, and design tools.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Series A

Total Funding

$500M

Headquarters

Austin, Texas

Founded

2023

Get referred to Fab2

See people who can refer or advise you

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

Fab2 closed a $500 million Series A on September 9, 2026, validating demand.
Texas expansion added Austin headquarters, Lockhart fabrication, and San Francisco prototyping capacity.
Studio can capture design workflows before fabrication, creating software leverage and customer lock-in.

What critics are saying

Fab2 must prove repeatable yield; one failed process node burns $500 million quickly.
TSMC, Intel Foundry, and Applied Materials can crush Fab2 with scale, supply chains, and patents.
If Studio misses adoption, Fab2 becomes a cash-burning custom fab without defensible software revenue.

What makes Fab2 unique

Fab2 combines chip design, fab tooling, and fabs under one Austin-built stack.
Sam Zeloof and Jim Keller pair hacker-grade prototype credibility with mainstream semiconductor architecture.
Lockhart's fab-fab and Studio browser EDA target faster iteration than incumbent foundries.

Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?

Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Parental Leave

401(k) Retirement Plan

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Commuter Benefits

Professional Development Budget

Company Equity

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

↓ -2%

1 year growth

↑ 2%

2 year growth

↓ -8%

Frontrun

Sep 9th, 2026

Fundraise receipts - september 9th: latitude, Split Pay, Fab2, Lightfield.

Fundraise receipts - september 9th: latitude, Split Pay, Fab2, Lightfield. tl;dr: frontrun flagged latitude on april 2 2026, 160 days before the company announced a $35M series A led by Oak HC/FT, bringing total funding to $43M. frontrun flagged Split Pay on may 19 2026, 112 days before the company announced $125M across a Series A and Series B, both led by Khosla Ventures with Thrive Capital and Max Levchin. founders Andrew Borovsky and Andrew Lin. frontrun flagged Fab2 on june 5 2026, 95 days before the company announced a $500M Series A led by Protagonist at a $3.7B valuation. founders Sam Zeloof and Jim Keller. a tracked account at a16z followed Lightfield on july 28 2026, 43 days before a16z led the company's $47M Series A with Maverick Capital, Coatue, Greylock, Lightspeed, Audacious and Alumni Ventures. founder and CEO Keith Peiris. Latitude: $35M series A, flagged 160 days early. FUNDRAISE |: @frontrunvc flagged @rtp on April 2nd. 160 days later: $35M Series A led by @oakhcft, $43M raised to date. latitude builds global payment infrastructure: fiat payouts and stablecoin on and off ramps with real-time settlement, running on the latitude liquidity network. the founding team came out of stripe, coinbase, uber and zero hash. flagged april 2 2026, announced september 9 2026. 160 days. 20 tracked accounts were already following @rtp before the round surfaced. oak hc/ft led the $35m series a. $43m raised to date. Split Pay: $125M Series A and B, flagged 112 days early. frontrun flagged Split Pay on may 19 2026, at 749 followers. on september 8 2026, 112 days later, Axios reported that Split Pay had raised $125M across back to back Series A and Series B rounds, both led by Khosla Ventures, joined by Thrive Capital and Max Levchin. the company had raised a $15M seed in 2023 before that. Split Pay (@splitpay), formerly Rent App, splits rent and mortgage payments into smaller instalments so renters and homeowners get financial breathing room. founded by Andrew Borovsky (CEO) and Andrew Lin, based in Miami. source: Split Pay raises $125 million for rent and mortgage lending. follow from the front. frontrun.vc Fab2: $500M Series A, flagged 95 days early. frontrun flagged Fab2 on june 5 2026. on september 8 2026, 95 days later, Fab2 announced a $500M Series A led by Protagonist, at a $3.7B valuation per the company's own post. 17 tracked accounts were following it by announcement, and a tracked account at Protagonist followed @fab2 on august 19, 20 days before the firm led the round. Fab2 (@fab2), formerly Atomic Semi, builds the hardware and software needed to make chips, fabs, tools and components, with the goal of printing chips and printing fabs. founded by Sam Zeloof (@szeloof) and chip architect Jim Keller, based in Austin. source: Protagonist on the $500M Series A. follow from the front. frontrun.vc Lightfield: $47M Series A, a16z followed 43 days early. a tracked account at a16z followed Lightfield on july 28 2026. on september 9 2026, 43 days later, a16z led Lightfield's $47M Series A, with Maverick Capital, Coatue, Greylock, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Audacious and Alumni Ventures participating. the fund that followed first is the fund that led. Lightfield (@lightfld), formerly Tome, is rebuilding the CRM for companies that run on agents: a world model of a business assembled from calls, emails and messages, rather than a database of manual notes. founder and CEO Keith Peiris (@keithpeiris). source: Lightfield raises $47 million Series A. follow from the front. frontrun.vc these already happened. the useful list is the one where the round or the launch has not happened yet. frontrun watches the follow graphs of 2,000+ tracked venture investors on X and flags the companies they converge on, with a date, the morning it happens. see the signal this article is built on frontrun tracks the follow graphs of 2,000+ venture investors and flags companies months before rounds are announced. companies and founders surfaced on frontrun. curated, every week.

Fab2

Automation Software Engineer Intern - Winter

About the job