periodic-labs
Research Intern, Thin Films
Menlo Park, CA · On-site · Internship · Posted May 26, 2026
- Education
- 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.
- Visa sponsorship
- Visa sponsorship is available; the company says it will assist with the process through legal support.
About the job
Performs thin-film and nanofabrication experiments to develop device-relevant processes and produce high-quality data for Periodic Labs’ AI training pipeline.
What you'll do
- Execute cleanroom fabrication workflows, including lithography, deposition, etching, and substrate preparation.
- Prepare and track samples, document experiments, and perform basic materials or device characterization.
- Troubleshoot and iterate on processes with research teams, connecting fabrication results to model predictions.
What they ask for
- Hands-on experience in a cleanroom, nanofabrication facility, semiconductor lab, photonics lab, MEMS lab, or related research environment.
- Practical exposure to lithography, deposition, and etch processes, with an understanding of how they connect in a device fabrication flow.
- Experience with silicon-based microelectronic, photonic, MEMS, optical, or semiconductor devices.
- Strong experimental documentation and attention to detail.
Nice to have
- Experience with full or partial device fabrication flows and characterization.
- Experience with specific nanofabrication tools, shared cleanrooms, or thin-film functional materials.
Tools
PVD, PLD, ALD, PECVD, RIE, ICP-RIE, SEM, XRD/XRR
AI focus
Fabrication results and experimental data feed into AI training and are connected to model predictions and experimental planning.
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative