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Physical Design Engineer Intern Jobs in Reston, VA

Artis, LLC

Mechanical Design Engineer III/IV

Herndon, VA · On-site

$115K - $180K/yr

M echanical Design Engineer III/IV Security Clearance An active security clearance or the ability ... Physical Demands The employee will be required to stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The ...

Artis, LLC

Mechanical Design Engineer III/IV

Herndon, VA · On-site

$115K - $180K/yr

M echanical Design Engineer III/IV Security Clearance An active security clearance or the ability ... Physical Demands The employee will be required to stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The ...

Artis, LLC

Mechanical Design Engineer III/IV

Herndon, VA · On-site

$115K - $180K/yr

M echanical Design Engineer III/IV Security Clearance An active security clearance or the ability ... Physical Demands The employee will be required to stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The ...

Nwis

RF Engineering Intern - 2026

Sterling, VA · On-site

$16.50 - $21.50/hr

Nightwing is looking for an RF Engineering Intern who will work closely with senior engineers on ... Responsibilities * Assist in the design and simulation of RF circuits and systems using industry ...

AVI Systems

Audio-Visual Design Engineer

Sterling, VA · On-site

$85K - $128K/yr

Requirements to Assure Success: * 3+ years of Design Engineering experience is preferred. * Prior ... Employer-paid employee assistance program to care for your physical, mental, and financial health

Nightwing

RF Engineering Intern - 2026

Sterling, VA · On-site

$16.50 - $21.50/hr

Nightwing is looking for an RF Engineering Intern who will work closely with senior engineers on ... Responsibilities * Assist in the design and simulation of RF circuits and systems using industry ...

M.C. Dean, Inc

Design Engineer Staff 2

Tysons, VA · On-site

We design, build, operate, and maintain cyber-physical solutions for the nation's most mission ... Our people are passionate about engineering innovation that improves lives and drives impactful ...

M.C. Dean, Inc

Design Engineer Associate 1

Tysons, VA · On-site

$75K - $113K/yr

We design, build, operate, and maintain cyber-physical solutions for the nation's most mission ... The Engineer provides system programming and management support for large scale networking ...

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All JobsPhysical Design Engineer Intern JobsPhysical Design Engineer Intern Jobs in Reston, VA

Physical Design Engineer Intern information

See Reston, VA salary details

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How much do physical design engineer intern jobs pay per hour?

As of Jul 15, 2026, the average hourly pay for physical design engineer intern in Reston, VA is $20.09, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $16.78 and $21.78 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Physical Design Engineer Intern, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Physical Design Engineer Intern, you generally need a solid background in electrical engineering, digital circuit design, and semiconductor fundamentals, often supported by ongoing university studies in a related field. Familiarity with industry-standard EDA tools such as Cadence, Synopsys, or Mentor Graphics, as well as scripting languages like TCL or Python, is highly valuable. Attention to detail, problem-solving abilities, and effective teamwork are crucial soft skills for excelling in this role. These skills and qualifications are important because they ensure accurate chip layouts, efficient workflows, and successful collaboration within complex engineering teams.

What types of projects and tasks can a Physical Design Engineer Intern expect to work on during their internship?

As a Physical Design Engineer Intern, you will typically be involved in supporting the design and verification of integrated circuits at the physical level. Common tasks include assisting with floorplanning, placement and routing, timing analysis, and running design rule checks using industry-standard EDA tools. You may also participate in team meetings, collaborate with senior engineers, and help resolve issues related to power, performance, and area optimization. These hands-on experiences are designed to help you build practical skills and gain a deeper understanding of the physical design flow in VLSI chip development.

What does a Physical Design Engineer Intern do?

A Physical Design Engineer Intern assists in the process of transforming a circuit design (RTL) into a real, manufacturable layout for semiconductor chips. They work on tasks such as floorplanning, placement, routing, timing analysis, and verifying that the chip design meets all physical and electrical requirements. Interns typically use electronic design automation (EDA) tools to perform these tasks and collaborate with experienced engineers. Their work is crucial in ensuring that chips are both functional and manufacturable at scale.

What is the difference between Physical Design Engineer Intern vs Digital Design Engineer Intern?

AspectPhysical Design Engineer InternDigital Design Engineer Intern
Required CredentialsTypically pursuing or holding a degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer EngineeringTypically pursuing or holding a degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering
Work EnvironmentDesigning and implementing physical chip layouts, working with EDA toolsDesigning digital logic circuits, working on HDL coding and simulation
Industry UsageFoundries, semiconductor companies, integrated circuit design firmsSemiconductor companies, integrated circuit design firms, tech companies

Physical Design Engineer Interns focus on translating digital logic designs into physical layouts for chips, working closely with EDA tools. Digital Design Engineer Interns concentrate on creating and simulating digital logic circuits using hardware description languages. Both roles are essential in chip development but differ in their specific tasks and focus areas.

What are popular job titles related to Physical Design Engineer Intern jobs in Reston, VA? For Physical Design Engineer Intern jobs in Reston, VA, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Physical Design Engineer Intern jobs in Reston, VA look for? The top searched job categories for Physical Design Engineer Intern jobs in Reston, VA are:
What cities near Reston, VA are hiring for Physical Design Engineer Intern jobs? Cities near Reston, VA with the most Physical Design Engineer Intern job openings:
Physical Design Engineer Intern jobs near you
Wireless Communications Senior Design Engineer

Wireless Communications Senior Design Engineer

Maxtena Inc

Germantown, MD • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 14 days ago

Job description

As a Wireless Communications Senior Design Engineer, you will be responsible for design, development, and optimization of advanced signal processing algorithms. Your work will include designing waveforms and signal detection/demodulation methods for RF communications systems and developing firmware for field-programmable gate array (FPGA) of wireless modem products based on Software Defined Radio (SDR) technologies.
The position is based in Germantown, MD.
YOUR WORK AT MAXTENA WILL INCLUDE:
  • Working with teams of software and hardware engineers to design custom RF communications systems for a Software Defined Radio
  • Designing and implementing waveform, signal detection, and feature extraction algorithms in firmware/software
  • Working at the physical layer to design waveforms and signal detection/demodulation methods that can be used in custom RF communications systems
  • Further Development of proven prototypes to a deployment standard
  • Building system solutions from algorithms by transitioning them from simulations to instantiations on FPGA platforms
  • Proposing verification methodologies and support the validation and testing of the implemented capabilities
  • Documenting the design, implementation, and test processes, and present the technical results to product teams and senior leadership
  • Development of Software/Firmware prototypes in an agile environment
  • Testing of solutions, including lab and field testing
  • Support demonstration of solutions

IDEAL CANDIDATE:
  • Must be a U.S. Citizen with an ability to obtain a Secret clearance
  • 5+ years of experience with wireless system modem implmentations
  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent, Master's degrees prefered.
  • Lab integration / test / debug with Logic Analyzers, Spectrum Analyzers, Oscilloscopes
  • Knowledge of existing cellular, satellite or WiFI standards.
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills including concise presentation skills

DESIRED EXPERIECE:
  • Demonstrated ability to design waveforms and use signal processing techniques for RF communication systems in real-world environments
  • Demonstrated experience with developing algorithms using scripting languages such as MATLAB
  • Demonstrated experience with FPGA implementation and testbench design with VHDL, Verilog, and SystemVerilog
  • Experience with baseband firmware and hardware component selection
  • Familiarity with Xilinx design process flow and tools (Vivado, Xilink SDK)
  • Experience with C, C++ and developing for embedded targets
  • Experience with software defined radio architectures and experience prototyping and testing communications systems using open source SDR tools such as GNU Rad

Maxtena is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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