Internship, Process Engineer, Dielectric Deposition, Terafab (Winter/Spring 2027)

Description

Consider before submitting an application:    

This position is expected to start around January 2027 and continue through the entire Spring term (ending approximately May 2027 or later, if available). We ask for a minimum of 12 weeks, full-time (40 hours/week) and on-site, for most internships. Our internship program is for students who are actively enrolled in an academic program. Recent graduates seeking employment after graduation and not returning to school should apply for full-time positions, not internships.  

International Students: If your work authorization is through CPT, please consult your school on your ability to work 40 hours per week before applying. You must be able to work 40 hours per week on-site. Many students will be limited to part-time during the academic year.     

Internship Program at Tesla    

The Internship Recruiting Team is driven by the passion to recognize and develop emerging talent. Our year-round program places the best students in positions where they will grow technically, professionally, and personally through their experience working closely with their Manager, Mentor, and team. We provide an experience that allows the intern to experience life at Tesla by including them in projects that are critical to their team’s success.   

We are building Terafab, a vertically integrated semiconductor factory at an unprecedented scale. The facility houses logic, memory, packaging, test, and lithography mask production under one roof, optimized for rapid iteration and maximum compute density per square foot. 

Process engineering is where the discipline by which Terafab technology gets built, atom by atom, and dielectric films set the foundation for device performance. You will develop and own dielectric deposition processes across three distinct chip families: edge-inference processors, space-hardened data center AI chips for orbital satellites, and high-bandwidth memory. You'll optimize mechanical, chemical, optical, and electrical properties of dielectric thin films including but not limited to film stress, conformality, gapfill, dielectric constant, and leakage current while balancing thermal budgets and integration constraints across radically different product requirements. 

Responsibilities

• Assist engineers with developing and qualifying ALD, CVD, and PECVD processes for thin film dielectrics: gate dielectrics, high-k materials, spacer films and annealing for Core Tr/Cap dielectrics shallow trench isolation, dielectric barrier, inter-layer dielectrics (ILD), dielectric barrier, inter-metallic dielectrics (IMD) and passivation for Isolation and passivation anti-reflective dielectric, blanket hardmask, ALD hardmask, high selective metal-containing hardmask, dry PR for Patterning enabling films  

• Characterize dielectric film properties—thickness, k-value, leakage, breakdown voltage, conformality, void-free gapfill, modulus/hardness, and stress  

• Under the mentorship of an engineer, assisting with the development for thin films from tool installation and its continuous improvement through HVM handoff for optimal productivity and yield  

• Qualify deposition tools from installation through production readiness, including chamber matching, particle control, and process window and stability qualification  

• Analyze process, property and structure from first-principles, physics-based approach to understand cause and effect mechanisms and to optimize key properties, not just recipes  

• Participate in root cause analysis to establish inline metrology and control strategies 

• Participate in next-generation dielectric materials and process development  

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related technical field, or related field 

• Experience in hands-on thin films process/integration engineering experience in a lab/ semiconductor fab 

• Experience with ALD/CVD tool operation and dielectric process development 

• Experience with thin films metrology tools, characterization, film stress measurement, and defect inspection  

• Experience in design of experiments skills and statistical analysis capability  

• Ability to work closely and proactively across lithography, etch, thin films, integration, and equipment engineering teams 

Compensation and Benefits

Benefits

As a full-time Tesla Intern, you will be eligible for:

• Medical plans > plan options with $0 payroll deduction
• Family-building, fertility, adoption and surrogacy benefits
• Dental (including orthodontic coverage) and vision plans. Both have an option with a $0 payroll contribution
• Company Paid (Health Savings Account) HSA Contribution when enrolled in the High Deductible Medical Plan with HSA
• Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• 401(k), Employee Stock Purchase Plans, and other financial benefits
• Company Paid Basic Life, AD&D, and short-term disability insurance (90 day waiting period)
• Employee Assistance Program
• Sick and Vacation time (Flex time for salary positions), and Paid Holidays
• Back-up childcare and parenting support resources
• Voluntary benefits to include: critical illness, hospital indemnity, accident insurance, theft & legal services, and pet insurance
• Commuter benefits
• Employee discounts and perks program