Customer Firmware Engineer InternAt — Sandisk

As a member of a highly skilled firmware development team, you will develop state of the art SSD (Solid State Drive) products for the enterprise market.  You will be responsible for learning the firmware code and overall development process to resolve customer issues and providing best in class firmware support.

In this highly technical and hands-on role, essential duties and responsibilities include the following (other duties may be assigned):

• Working together with cross functional teams to triage failure logs, reproduce issues, and delivering firmware fixes for customer issues. 
• Writing various scripts to support log failure analysis, creating utilities, and develop regression tests.
• Analyzing, troubleshooting and fixing issues discovered by internal test teams or by customer use of the products.
• Providing concise write-up describing the root cause, impacts, and fix changeset to effectively communicate resolution to customer issues.
• Implementing customer change requests.

Your contributions will have a direct impact to the company’s success in our fast paced environment.

Qualifications

Required: 

• Currently pursuing a Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field with completion of May/June 2026 or beyond.
• Available to work full-time Monday - Friday for the duration of the internship
• Position is expected to be hybrid, working primarily onsite in our Irvine, CA location. Relocation will not be offered for this position.

Preferred skills:

• Strong programming skills in C++, Python or PHP. 
• Understanding of embedded systems and firmware development. 
• Good understanding of Solid State Drives (SSDs) and NAND Flash memory is a plus.  
• Ability to learn quickly and work collaboratively in a team environment. 
• Good problem-solving and analytical skills. 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. 
• Preference given to candidates who will not require relocation to the Milpitas, CA area. Relocation will not be offered for this position. 

Tasks:

Aniket will be engaged in a variety of professional-level tasks that support both technical growth and the achievement of key learning outcomes. These duties are designed to offer hands-on experience in firmware development and software engineering within a high-performing technical team.

Key responsibilities will include:

API Development: Aniket is expected to design and implement APIs to interface with the next-generation QLC SSD platform. This task will involve understanding hardware-software integration, defining communication protocols, and ensuring efficient data exchange between system components.

Firmware Code Refactoring: Aniket will analyze existing firmware codebases to identify opportunities for optimization, modularization, and improved maintainability. This task will provide exposure to embedded systems, low-level programming, and performance-critical development.

Python Scripting for Build Support: Aniket will develop and maintain Python scripts used in the build process to automate workflows, streamline development operations, and improve team productivity.

These tasks will require Aniket to apply advanced problem-solving skills, demonstrate coding proficiency, and collaborate within a cross-functional engineering team. The complexity and professional nature of the assignments ensure that the student will meet or exceed the academic criteria for earning college credit.

Training:

During this placement, Aniket will receive a combination of hands-on and structured training to support their learning and professional development. Training will begin with a mandatory general employer orientation to introduce the student to company policies, team norms, and tools used within the organization.

Aniket will be paired with a dedicated mentor, Jose, who will provide ongoing guidance and support, particularly focusing on architecture and design document reviews. These mentorship sessions will help Aniket develop a strong understanding of system design principles and industry-standard documentation practices.

In addition to mentor-led training, Ankiet will participate in firmware engineering peer code reviews, which will allow them to receive direct feedback on their coding practices and learn how to read, understand, and critique others' code. This will enhance their technical skills, attention to detail, and collaborative development capabilities.

Aniket may also have opportunities for job shadowing and informal knowledge sharing sessions with other engineers on the team to gain a broader understanding of firmware development workflows and project lifecycles.

Together, these training components are designed to support the student in achieving meaningful learning outcomes aligned with their academic and professional goals.

Learning outcome:

By the end of the academic internship, the student will be able to work effectively with cross-functional teams to triage failure logs, reproduce issues, and deliver firmware fixes for customer issues. They will be proficient in writing various scripts to support log failure analysis, create utilities, and develop regression tests. The student will also be skilled in analyzing, troubleshooting, and fixing issues discovered by internal test teams or through customer use of the products. Additionally, they will be capable of providing concise write-ups describing the root cause, impacts, and fix changes to effectively communicate resolution to customer issues. Finally, the student will be adept at implementing customer change requests efficiently and accurately.