PhD Research Intern, Networking - 2027 - CA, Santa Clara, United States

Originally posted 21 September 2026 by the employer — open 1 day.

About the role

This internship focuses on contributing to the development of future high-performance networking and computing systems. Research includes optimizing communication stacks for AI training and inference, designing network protocols and congestion control, co-designing AI systems, and architecting networks built on optical switching and silicon photonics.

What you'll do

- Invent new techniques, technologies, methodologies, processes, and devices to enable new products. - Produce deliverable results including prototypes, patents, and publications. - Contribute to research that informs NVIDIA's technology direction 5-10 years out.

What you'll need

- Pursuing a PhD degree in CS, CE, EE, Physics, Math, or equivalent program. - Relevant industry or university research experience (hardware, software, networking). - Background in networking architectures, topologies, routing, and system design. - Hands-on experience with simulation of networks and high-performance computing systems. - Familiarity with inference and training systems for AI models and associated communication patterns. - Excellent programming skills in a rapid prototyping environment such as Python; C++ and parallel programming.

Skills: high-performance networking, computer architecture, communication systems, network controllers, silicon photonics