Internship - Optical Engineering Summer 2026

Introduction

ASML US, including its affiliates and subsidiaries, bring together the most creative minds in science and technology to develop lithography machines that are key to producing faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient microchips. We design, develop, integrate, market and service these advanced machines, which enable our customers - the world's leading chipmakers - to reduce the size and increase the functionality of their microchips, which in turn leads to smaller, more powerful consumer electronics. Our headquarters are in Veldhoven, Netherlands, and we have 18 office locations around the United States including main offices in Chandler, Arizona, San Jose and San Diego, California, Wilton, Connecticut, and Hillsboro, Oregon.

Job Mission

The Optical Engineering Intern shall assist with the design, testing, development, and troubleshooting of next-generation optical and opto-mechanical metrology sub-systems for the creation and control of EUV radiation.

The internships are expected to be 12 weeks in length and on-site at the San Diego campus for the summer of 2026.

Your Assignment

Using Optical engineering expertise the candidate is expected to perform work in some of these general area of Optical Engineering :

Perform Optical design, optical tolerancing and modeling with CodeV and / or Zemax.

Physical Optics Simulation (wave propagation, partial coherence calculation and other optical effects) in Matlab, FRED and CodeV or other suitable design tools.

Perform Polarization optics error budgeting and polarization modeling.

Building and aligning complex sensors using diverse mechanical, collimation and interferometry subsystems.

Test stand design and build : concept, error budget, realization.

Optical sensors Hardware build and debugging.

Your Profile

Looking for candidate that is currently pursuing a degree in optical engineering or closely related areas of engineering and physics. Master or a Ph.D degree preferred.

Student must demonstrate some experience in some of these areas :

Optical design and tolerancing using CodeV or equivalent SW package.

Physical optics modeling with FRED or equivalent SW package.

Optical sensors alignment experience using diverse alignment strategy and tools like optical collimators, mechanical gaging and interferometers.

Optical sensor metrology test design and build.

Expertise with diverse optical technologies and devices : polarization devices, relays, objectives, light sources, fibers, camera and detectors.

Skills

Working at the cutting edge of tech, you'll always have new challenges and new problems to solve - and working together is the only way to do that. You won't work in a silo. Instead, you'll be part of a creative, dynamic work environment where you'll collaborate with supportive colleagues. There is always space for creative and unique points of view. You'll have the flexibility and trust to choose how best to tackle tasks and solve problems.

To thrive in this job, you'll need the following skills :

Can observe and respond to people and situations and interact with others encountered in the course of work.

Can learn and apply new information or skills.

Must be able to read and interpret data, information, and documents.

Strong customer focus and commitment to customer satisfaction through prioritization, quality, efficiency and professionalism.

Result driven-demonstrate ownership and accountability.

Identifies bottlenecks and drives improvements.

Demonstrate open, clear, concise and professional communication.

Other Information

• This position is located on-site in San Diego California. It requires onsite presence to attend in-person work-related events, trainings and meetings and to further ensure teamwork, collaboration and innovation.
• Must be willing to work in a clean room environment, wearing coveralls, hoods, booties, safety glasses and gloves for entire duration of shift.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee routinely is required to sit; walk; talk; hear; use hands to keyboard, finger, handle, and feel; stoop, kneel, crouch, twist, reach, and stretch.

The current base annual hourly range for this role is currently $18.00 - $48.00. Pay scales are determined by role, level, location and alignment with market data. Individual pay is determined through interviews and an assessment of several factors that that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and pay relative to other team members.

This position requires access to controlled technology, as defined in the United States Export Administration Regulations (15 C.F.R.

Inclusion and diversity

ASML is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values and respects the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce. It is the policy of the company to recruit, hire, train and promote persons in all job titles without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We recognize that inclusion and diversity is a driving force in the success of our company.

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Request an Accommodation

ASML provides reasonable accommodations to applicants for ASML employment and ASML employees with disabilities. An accommodation is a change in work rules, facilities, or conditions which enable an individual with a disability to apply for a job, perform the essential functions of a job, and / or enjoy equal access to the benefits and privileges of employment. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete an application, participate in an interview, or otherwise participate in the employee pre-selection process, please send an email to to initiate the company's reasonable accommodation process.

Please note : This email address is solely intended to provide a method for applicants to initiate ASML's process to request accommodation(s). Any recruitment questions should be directed to the designated Talent Acquisition member for the position.