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Physical Design Engineer Intern Jobs in San Rafael, CA

Apple

Physical Design Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$160K - $164K/yr

We have an opportunity for a forward-thinking and unusually hardworking Physical Design Engineer. As a member of our wide-ranging group, you will have the rare and great opportunity to craft upcoming ...

Apple

Physical Design Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$160K - $164K/yr

We have an opportunity for a forward-thinking and unusually hardworking Physical Design Engineer. As a member of our wide-ranging group, you will have the rare and great opportunity to craft upcoming ...

Apple

Physical Design Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$160K - $164K/yr

We have an opportunity for a forward-thinking and unusually hardworking Physical Design Engineer. As a member of our wide-ranging group, you will have the rare and great opportunity to craft upcoming ...

Apple

Physical Design Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$160K - $164K/yr

We have an opportunity for a forward-thinking and unusually hardworking Physical Design Engineer. As a member of our wide-ranging group, you will have the rare and great opportunity to craft upcoming ...

Conductor

Physical Design Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$130 - $170/hr

We're looking for physical design engineers to help manage and execute the physical design process for the various dies that comprise our A-0 and A-1 systems. This will involve deciding what to do in ...

New

Gumloop

Design Engineer Intern

San Francisco, CA · On-site

Role Overview We're looking for a Design Engineering Intern to help shape, design, and build high-craft product experiences end to end. This role sits at the intersection of product, design, and ...

Droyd Robotics

Mechanical Engineer Intern

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$22 - $29.75/hr

About the Role As a Mechanical Engineering Intern at Droyd, you will work hands-on on real robotic ... a physical build * Are comfortable using modern CAD tools (Onshape preferred, but not required)

KASTLE

Software Engineer - Intern

San Francisco, CA

As an intern, you won't spend your summer fixing minor bugs or working on isolated projects--you'll work alongside experienced engineers to design, build, and ship production software and AI Agents ...

New

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Physical Design Engineer Intern information

See San Rafael, CA salary details

$12

$21

$32

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

As of Aug 11, 2026, the average hourly pay for physical design engineer intern in San Rafael, CA is $21.53, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $17.93 and $23.32 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What skills and qualifications are needed to thrive as a physical design engineer intern?

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 is a physical design engineer intern?

A physical design engineer intern is a student or entry-level professional gaining hands-on experience in the physical implementation of integrated circuits, including tasks like floorplanning, placement, routing, and timing analysis. They typically work with electronic design automation (EDA) tools and collaborate with engineering teams to optimize chip performance and manufacturability.

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 San Rafael, CA? For Physical Design Engineer Intern jobs in San Rafael, CA, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What cities near San Rafael, CA are hiring for Physical Design Engineer Intern jobs? Cities near San Rafael, CA with the most Physical Design Engineer Intern job openings:
Physical Design Engineer Intern jobs near you
Infographic showing various Physical Design Engineer Intern job openings in San Rafael, CA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 72% Full Time, 23% Part Time, 1% Temporary, 2% Contract, and 1% Nights. Highlights an 98% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 1% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $44,783 per year, or $21.5 per hour.

Physical Design Engineer

Apple

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$160K - $164K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 13 days ago

Apple rating

8.0

Company rating: 8.0 out of 10

Based on 677 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

7th of 30 rated technology retailers

Job description

At Apple we work every single day to craft products that enrich people's lives. Do you love working on challenges that no one has solved yet? Do you like changing the game? We have an opportunity for a forward-thinking and unusually hardworking Physical Design Engineer. As a member of our wide-ranging group, you will have the rare and great opportunity to craft upcoming products that will delight and encourage millions of Apple's customers every single day. In this role, we will be at the center of a PHY design effort working with architecture, CAD, timing, and logic design teams, with a critical impact on delivering outstanding PHY designs. You will be required to do physical designs of outstanding PHY design.
Description
As a Physical Design engineer you will contribute to all phases of physical design of high performance PHY design from RTL to delivery of our final GDSII.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering and 3+ years experience preferred.
Preferred Qualifications
The ideal candidate will have deep design experience in high PHY and/or SOC designs.
Deep Knowledge about industry standards and practices in Physical Design, including Physically aware
synthesis, Floor-planning, and Place & Route.
Experience in developing and implementing Power-grid and Clock specifications.
Strong understanding of all aspects of Physical construction, Integration and Physical Verification.
Shown Knowledge of Basic SoC Architecture and HDL languages like Verilog to be able with logic design team for timing fixes Power user of industry standard Physical Design & Synthesis tools.
Deep Understanding of scripting languages such as Perl/Tcl, solid understanding of Extraction and STA methodology and tools.
Deep Understanding of Physical Design Verification methodology to debug LVS/DRC issues at chip/block level.

What Apple employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

Get the full story on Breakroom

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About Apple

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Imagine what you could do here! At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming extraordinary products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and dedication to your job and there's no telling what you could accomplish. Dynamic, intelligent people and inspiring, innovative technologies are the norm here. The people who work here have reinvented entire industries with all Apple Hardware products. The same real passion for innovation that goes into our products also applies to our practices strengthening our dedication to leave the world better than we found it.

Industry

Computer and electronic product manufacturing

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Cupertino, CA, US

Year founded

1976

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