The US still designs most of the world's leading-edge chips and is rebuilding its manufacturing with CHIPS Act money. This page maps the employers, the hubs where they cluster, and what international graduates should know before applying.
American companies own most of the fabless chip industry: NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Broadcom, AMD, Apple, Marvell and the hyperscalers' in-house silicon teams. Architecture and leading-edge design decisions are made here, which is why US roles carry the widest scope and the highest pay.
Manufacturing is growing again. TSMC is producing in Arizona, Samsung is building in Taylor, Texas, Micron is expanding in Idaho and New York, and Texas Instruments is adding 300 mm capacity in Sherman. Intel has slowed its Ohio project after deep cuts in 2025, a reminder that fab timelines move.
For international students the usual route is an MS at a US university, a summer internship, and a full-time offer that starts on OPT/STEM OPT. Work-visa policy has been changing quickly through 2025 and 2026, so confirm current USCIS rules and ask every recruiter early whether they sponsor.
Filter by type, or search a name, city, role or technology. Every link goes to the organisation's own site, not a job board.
Showing all 24
Where most leading-edge digital design happens. Heavy MS/PhD hiring, internships are the main entry point.
The most sought-after hardware employer right now. Large ASIC, verification, physical design and architecture teams, and a big summer intern class.
Ryzen, EPYC, Instinct and the former Xilinx FPGA business. Austin is one of its biggest design sites.
Modem and SoC design at its headquarters, with growing data-centre and PC efforts after buying Alphawave Semi in December 2025.
Apple's silicon group designs its own CPUs, GPUs and now modems. Secretive, selective and very well resourced.
Builds custom accelerators for hyperscalers and much of the world's networking silicon. Mostly experienced hiring.
Custom compute, optical DSPs and networking chips for data centres.
In-house silicon for AI training and Pixel phones.
A mid-size analog/mixed-signal company with a strong intern program in Austin.
A focused place to work on FPGA silicon and the software that programs it.
Design and manufacturing under one roof, or pure-play foundries. Strong demand for process, yield, equipment and product engineers as new US fabs ramp.
Still the largest US chip manufacturer. After 2025's restructuring, hiring is more targeted, and the Ohio fab has been pushed back.
Owns its fabs, including new 300 mm sites in Sherman and Lehi, Utah. One of the best US employers for analog designers and process engineers.
TSMC's US fabs, producing since late 2024 and expanding. Hiring process, integration, equipment and yield engineers.
Samsung's long-running Austin fab plus the large new Taylor site.
Building new memory fabs in Idaho and New York. Hires memory designers as well as process and equipment engineers.
Mature and specialty nodes for RF, automotive and defence. Good fab-engineering entry point.
A top destination for analog designers, with a well-known new-graduate rotation program.
Broad product range and its own fabs. Steady hiring across design and applications.
Tools and machines the whole industry depends on.
The largest EDA company, now including Ansys after the 2025 merger. Applications engineering is a common entry role.
Tools for every stage of chip design, plus verification IP and hardware emulation.
Formerly Mentor Graphics. Known for physical verification and high-level synthesis tools.
The largest equipment maker. Hires process, hardware, software and field engineers.
Equipment engineering and process technology roles.
Optics, algorithms and software for yield control.
Building a large advanced-packaging site in Arizona to serve TSMC and Apple.
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Counted from the companies on this page. Use it to shortlist: if you're preparing for verification, start with the employers in that row.
| ROLE | LISTED | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|---|
| Verification | 15 | NVIDIA, AMD, Qualcomm, Apple, Broadcom, Marvell, Google (Silicon) and 8 more |
| RTL design | 9 | NVIDIA, AMD, Qualcomm, Apple, Marvell, Google (Silicon), Cirrus Logic and 2 more |
| Physical design | 9 | NVIDIA, AMD, Qualcomm, Apple, Broadcom, Marvell, Google (Silicon) and 2 more |
| STA | 2 | NVIDIA, Broadcom |
| DFT | 2 | AMD, Broadcom |
| Analog / mixed-signal | 9 | Qualcomm, Apple, Broadcom, Marvell, Cirrus Logic, Texas Instruments, Analog Devices and 2 more |
| Analog layout | 3 | Cirrus Logic, Texas Instruments, Analog Devices |
| Architecture | 5 | NVIDIA, AMD, Qualcomm, Apple, Google (Silicon) |
| Memory design | 1 | Micron Technology |
| FPGA | 3 | AMD, Lattice Semiconductor, Microchip Technology |
| Embedded / firmware | 3 | Qualcomm, Applied Materials, Lam Research |
| CAD / EDA | 8 | NVIDIA, Lattice Semiconductor, Samsung Austin Semiconductor, GlobalFoundries, Synopsys, Cadence Design Systems, Siemens EDA and 1 more |
| Applications | 6 | Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, Microchip Technology, Synopsys, Cadence Design Systems, Siemens EDA |
| Process & fab | 10 | Intel, Texas Instruments, TSMC Arizona, Samsung Austin Semiconductor, Micron Technology, GlobalFoundries, Applied Materials and 3 more |
| Test & product | 8 | Intel, Texas Instruments, TSMC Arizona, Samsung Austin Semiconductor, Micron Technology, GlobalFoundries, Analog Devices and 1 more |
Almost everyone follows the same path: a US master's degree, a summer internship, and a return offer.
Most large fabless and EDA companies, including NVIDIA, AMD, Qualcomm, Apple, Marvell, Synopsys and Cadence, hire international MS graduates, usually through internships first. Policies vary by year and role, so ask the recruiter directly.
Not strictly, but it's the most reliable route for international candidates. It gives you OPT work authorisation and access to campus recruiting, which is where most new-grad offers come from.
The San Francisco Bay Area has the most, followed by Austin, San Diego, Portland/Hillsboro and Phoenix. Dallas and Boston are strong for analog.
Yes. TSMC Arizona, Samsung Taylor, Micron, Texas Instruments and Amkor are all hiring as they ramp, mostly for process, equipment, yield and test roles.
Their interviews test the same core topics. Practise with free question banks, then get a mentor-led mock interview before the real one.