Intern - Software Application Development

Coherent Corp. Vietnam • Fremont, CA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a motivated Software Engineering Intern to join the Software
Application Development team for Summer 2026. In this role, you will help extend
our internal R&D and test automation platform (Windows, C#, .NET Framework) by
adding support for optical switch testing under SONiC OS. You will gain hands-on
experience with network switch fundamentals, Linux-based switch operating
systems, SSH-based automation, and building production-quality features used by
engineers in the lab.

Requirements

• Education Level Required: Bachelor’s (or Master’s preferred, but not required)
• Rising Senior (completed 3 years by start)
• Majors: Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering (or related)
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to document work and present results.
• Team-oriented but able to work independently when needed.
• Adaptable and eager to learn in a fast-paced environment.
• Attention to detail and time management.
• Working knowledge of C# and object-oriented design; familiarity with .NET Framework is a plus.
• Basic understanding of network switching concepts (ports, VLANs, link status, interfaces).
• Basic Linux experience (CLI navigation, file/log inspection, process concepts).
• Experience using SSH for remote command execution and troubleshooting.
• Experience with Python; exposure to IronPython is a plus.
• Comfort with debugging, logs, and iterative problem-solving in a lab environment.
• Familiarity with Git/source control and basic software engineering workflows.

Nice To Haves

• Relevant coursework or project experience in one or more of the following is a plus:
• Networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, routing/switching concepts, Ethernet)
• Linux fundamentals and shell/CLI usage
• Software development in C# and/or Python
• Systems automation, test automation, or tools development
• Open to currently enrolled students or those who have graduated within one year of the internship start date.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement optical switch testing support within our existing R&D and test platform (C#, .NET Framework, Windows).
• Develop an SSH-based integration layer to communicate with SONiC devices (command execution, session management, authentication handling, timeouts, and error recovery).
• Optimize and harden the existing SSH interface used in our platform for reliability, performance, and maintainability (connection reuse, retries/backoff, logging, structured command results).
• Add monitoring capabilities via SSH to collect switch/system telemetry (examples: interface state, link status, transceiver/port data exposed by SONiC/CLI, health signals, relevant logs).
• Improve and extend our IronPython-based test scripting to support SSH-driven workflows (new scripting APIs, examples, and backward-compatible enhancements where possible).
• Create validation coverage: unit/integration tests where feasible, plus practical lab verification steps and repeatable test procedures.
• Deliver internship capstone artifacts: a short design/architecture write-up working prototype integrated into the platform documentation (usage guide + example scripts) final demo/presentation to the engineering team

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern