Last thoughts: Intern Experience

Hello, my name is Shriraj Kunjir and I’m working towards my master’s degree in Electrical Engineering at Santa Clara University with a focus on VLSI Design and looking to graduate in March 2015. This summer of 2014 I worked with the Hardware Engineering team as an ASIC Design Intern.

I got to work on an important part of a new generation ASIC device which will go into all of Infinera’s products. My responsibility was to perform proof of concept of a design by mapping it onto a new FPGA device along with a new POC board and run Quartus flow with timing analysis and also perform verification tests on it with lab validation. Through these tasks, I got an opportunity to learn new skills like the Quartus FPGA Synthesis tool, System Verilog and shell scripting along with their use in the design and verification environment; some of those things I would’ve never learned in the classroom. I couldn’t have asked for a better team of engineers to work with, who were willing to teach and guide me throughout the project. 

Working at Infinera is so far the best job I have had, one in which my work helps me acquire knowledge of new things outside of academia and also hone my professional skills. Infinera has created a friendly and productive environment that is conducive to learning and allows for exponential personal as well as professional growth. My mentor and my manager were very supportive and understanding and never made me feel pressurized. I enjoyed having short conversations with my manager over coffee where I still remember his words on the very first day “don’t feel scared to make mistakes, you only learn from your mistakes and not from your successes”. I joined the Toastmaster’s club and found their meetings to be very meaningful wherein I got to learn about public speaking, how to overcome stage fear and how to effectively communicate with your peers and superiors which in turn fosters self-confidence and personal growth.

So far I have met a lot of great people and everyone has been very kind and cooperative. The skills that I have learned here at Infinera have all provided me with the tools to help become successful in my future endeavors both inside and outside of the office.