Firmware and Systems Developer Intern -Poughkeepsie, NY

IBM Hardware and Systems engineers design and deliver the compute platforms that power the world’s most advanced AI, cloud, and enterprise technologies. From silicon to system, our teams collaborate across mechanical, electrical, computer, materials, and firmware engineering to design, develop, prototype, and test next-generation IBM hardware and firmware. We are seeking Hardware, Systems, and Firmware Development Interns to join our U.S. development labs for 2026.

These roles provide hands-on experience in firmware development, hardware bring-up, design, prototyping, testing, and process development across IBM’s high-performance systems portfolio.

Your role and responsibilities

As an intern, you will:

• Collaborate across disciplines to design, model, and validate next-generation hardware and firmware.
• Participate in power electronics development, firmware development, and system bring-up.
• Conduct experiments, analyze data, and contribute to reliability, process, and materials development projects.
• Write scripts and automation tools using Python, C/C++, or Bash to support testing and validation.

You’ll have opportunities to work in focus areas such as:

• Electrical & Logic Design – PCB/IC layout (Cadence, Allegro), digital logic, circuit, and system design.
• Firmware & Automation – Embedded systems, firmware testing, scripting, and hardware debugging.

High School Diploma/GED

Preferred education

Bachelor's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

B.S. or M.S. student in Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, Materials, Chemical, Industrial, or related Engineering disciplines.

Strong academic background with an interest in hardware design, firmware, optics, logic, process, or materials engineering.

Experience with CAD tools (Solid Works, AutoCAD, Allegro, Cadence) and/or simulation tools (CFD, FEM, HFSS).

Programming experience with Python, C/C++, or Bash for firmware, automation, or data analysis.

Strong analytical, problem-solving, and teamwork skills.

Preferred technical and professional experience

Experience with firmware development, test automation, or embedded systems.

Hands-on experience with lab tools (LabVIEW, MATLAB, oscilloscopes, thermal chambers, or optical test equipment).

Familiarity with design of experiments (DOE) or project management in a research or lab environment.

Experience in signal or power integrity modeling, optical systems, logic design, firmware, or materials process engineering.

M.S. or Ph.D. students with a research focus in electrical packaging, photonics, signal integrity, thermal design, or firmware are encouraged to apply.

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 portfoliodesigned for cognitive business and optimized for cloud computing.

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…