Internship - Tools Development for Chip Physical Design (f/m/x)

IBM
IBM

Design

Ehningen, Germany

Posted on Aug 31, 2026
Introduction

Join a Team That Builds the Future of Computing

At IBM’s largest European R&D site in Ehningen, Germany, innovation is a team effort. With 1,300 employees and around 200 engineers in our hardware development team, we’re shaping the future of computing—together.

We design the core components behind IBM Z, IBM POWER, and IBM Quantum systems—technologies that power cloud computing, AI, big data, and more. What sets us apart is how we work: across borders, disciplines, and product families. You’ll collaborate with colleagues in the U.S., Israel, and India, using AI, Agile and Design Thinking to drive creativity and continuous learning.

If you're passionate about technology and thrive in a collaborative, forward-thinking environment, we’d love to meet you.

Your role and responsibilities
We are looking for curious and highly motivated students to join our Processor Physical Design Team for a 6+ month internship in 2027.

Our team develops the physical implementation of industry-leading processors for IBM Z and IBM Power servers, as well as key semiconductor components for IBM Quantum systems. Working at the forefront of advanced semiconductor technology, we continuously explore new ways to improve design productivity, quality, and innovation.

During your internship, you will collaborate with experienced chip designers and EDA software engineers to investigate how Artificial Intelligence can transform physical design tools, methodologies, and workflows. AI is rapidly reshaping semiconductor development, creating exciting opportunities to automate complex tasks, accelerate design convergence, and unlock new levels of engineering productivity.

Possible projects include:

  • Developing AI-powered solutions that automate and enhance physical design workflows
  • Applying machine learning, large language models (LLMs), and data analytics to challenging EDA problems
  • Building intelligent assistants that support floorplanning, placement, timing closure, verification, and design analysis
  • Analyzing large-scale design data to identify optimization opportunities and improve design quality
  • Prototyping and evaluating next-generation methodologies that reduce turnaround time and increase engineering efficiency
  • Developing robust software solutions using Python and modern software engineering practices
  • Integrating AI capabilities into existing EDA environments and semiconductor design flows

Required education
Bachelor's Degree
Preferred education
Bachelor's Degree
Required technical and professional expertise

We’re looking for candidates with a strong technical foundation and a collaborative mindset. Ideally, you have:

  • Enrolled in a Bachelor’s or Master’s program in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Physics or related field
  • Familiarity with chip design flows and EDA tools
  • Strong programming skills (Python or similar)
  • Experience with CI/CD tools (e.g. Git, Jenkins) is an advantage
  • Experience with AI-assisted development tools, coding assistants, or workflow automation is an advantage
  • Strong intrinsic motivation and proactive attitude
  • Curiosity and enthusiasm for experimentation, problem-solving, and debugging
  • Strong team player and open minded to work in an international team
  • Strong communication skills in English and German

ABOUT BUSINESS UNIT

IBM Systems helps IT leaders think differently about their infrastructure. IBM servers and storage are no longer inanimate - they can understand, reason, and learn so our clients can innovate while avoiding IT issues. Our systems power the world’s most important industries and our clients are the architects of the future. Join us to help build our leading-edge technology portfolio designed for cognitive business and optimized for cloud computing.

YOUR LIFE @ IBM

In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.

Being an IBMer means you’ll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you’ll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.

Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.

Are you ready to be an IBMer?

ABOUT IBM

IBM’s greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.

Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we’re also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 500 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.

At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it’s time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

IBM is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

For additional information about location requirements, please discuss with the recruiter following submission of your application.

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