Arista Networks Internship Program: Launch Your Career in Cloud Networking

Arista Networks, a rapidly expanding mid-size company specializing in multi-layer Ethernet switches for modern data centers, offers a dynamic internship program designed to provide students with invaluable hands-on experience. With a focus on innovation and a commitment to employee well-being, Arista provides an exceptional environment for interns to learn, contribute, and grow.

A Culture of Innovation and Collaboration

Arista's work culture sets it apart, earning recognition on Glassdoor's list of top 50 places to work in the US for several years. This positive environment is fostered by:

A Flat and Friendly Management Team: Encouraging open communication and collaboration.
Flexible Working Hours and Vacation Policies: Promoting work-life balance.
Hack-a-Switches: Biannual hackathons that stimulate creativity and problem-solving.

Impactful Contributions from Day One

Unlike internships where students are relegated to mundane tasks, Arista empowers interns to make meaningful contributions to real-world projects. Arista's Software Engineering teams are known for integrating new grads and interns, allowing them to have a real impact. You won't be stuck fetching coffee or wondering if anyone knows you're there.

Supportive Environment: Arista employees are eager to provide assistance and guidance.
Efficient Tools: Internal tools facilitate code testing on hardware, and automated tests minimize the risk of errors.
Challenging Projects: Interns are presented with complex tasks that encourage them to stretch their abilities.

Software Engineering Internships

Arista offers software internships in various locations, including Santa Clara, Austin, Vancouver, Nashua, Dublin, and Bangalore. These internships provide opportunities to work on cutting-edge projects in the software-defined networking space.

Hardware Engineering Internships

Located in Santa Clara, CA, Arista's hardware internships provide exposure to the intricate world of high-speed Ethernet switch design. Here, interns tackle complex challenges related to:

High-Speed Signals: Working with 10+ gigabit signals.
Power Supplies: Designing high-current power supplies.
PCB Design: Engaging with high layer count PCB stackups and dense board layouts.
Thermal Analysis: Analyzing thermal performance.
CPLDs: Utilizing unique CPLDs.

Ownership and Control

Arista believes in empowering its engineers. Each Printed Circuit Board Design is the work and the creation of only one engineer. Interns are given significant ownership of their projects, from specification creation to manufacturing support. They may even be tasked with designing test boards used in manufacturing lines.

State-of-the-Art Equipment

Arista's hardware lab is equipped with advanced tools, including high-speed oscilloscopes, TDRs, spectrum analyzers, programmable electronic loads, and temperature chambers.

Mentorship and Knowledge Sharing

Arista fosters a strong culture of knowledge sharing. Full-time engineers are encouraged to mentor interns, providing guidance and support.

Opportunities in Finance-Specific Network Devices

Arista designs, develops, and manufactures network devices specifically for the finance industry. Interns in this area contribute to building cutting-edge technology used by top firms worldwide. The team possesses a diverse range of expertise in electronics, chip design, FPGA, software, Linux, operating systems, and full-stack development.

The Internship Experience: A Deep Dive

Arista's internships offer Computer Science and Engineering students (typically in their 3rd or 4th year) an exceptional opportunity to learn, collaborate, and innovate in the field of network communication technology. Interns become part of a team that is constantly pushing the boundaries of software-driven cloud networking.

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Core Values at Arista Networks

Arista seeks individuals who are innovative thinkers, team players, and passionate about solving networking problems. The company's culture is built upon key values that resonate throughout the organization. Arista believes in supporting its people by providing competitive and comprehensive benefit packages.

Diversity and Inclusion

Arista Networks is an equal opportunity employer committed to building an inclusive culture that encourages, supports, and celebrates the voices of all employees. Employment decisions are made without regard to sex, race, age, disability, religion, national origin, color, or any other factor prohibited by law.

Job Description: Routing Team

Interns may have the opportunity to work with the Routing team, which focuses on the core logic of network packet routing. This involves developing world-leading products using languages such as C/C++, Go, and Java.

Potential Responsibilities

Interns may be involved in a variety of tasks, including:

Writing Linux user space and kernel code for DMA operations.
Working on the hardware/software boundary for chips and the kernel.
Programming networking chips for latency analysis and event counting.
Writing Python to bootstrap new hardware.
Building software agents to mediate between switching ASICs, FPGAs, media adapters, and PCIe bridges.
Implementing communication protocols between routers and switches.
Updating the forwarding state of hardware using platform-independent abstractions.
Reconciling the Linux kernel routing model with the switch's forwarding state.
Implementing a policy language for filtering and manipulating routing data.
Accessing ASIC registers to implement high-resolution timers and gather network congestion statistics.
Developing configuration management services using Go and Python to support various protocols and tools.
Developing routing protocol agents in C/C++ within a Fedora Linux embedded environment.
Coding fault-tolerant, concurrent agents for high-performance and high-availability data centers.
Contributing to a fully automated, developer-owned, Python-based continuous test harness.

Qualifications

Ideal candidates possess skills in one or more of the following areas:

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C, C++, Java, Python, Go, react.js, redux.js, node.js
Networking, Linux Embedded Systems, Algorithms, Programming, Software Development

The Internship Interview Process

The interview process typically involves several stages:

Initial Screening: Candidates from Computer Science and related fields with a strong academic record (e.g., 8+ CGPA) are eligible.
Online Assessment: This assessment is conducted on HackerRank and includes multiple sections:
- MCQ Section: Tests basic aptitude, math, OS, OOP, and C fundamentals.
- Coding Questions: Typically involve sorting, iteration, backtracking, and tree-based problems.
Technical Rounds: These rounds involve in-depth discussions of technical skills, data structures, algorithms, and system design. Candidates may be asked to solve coding problems on a collaborative online platform. Questions about personal projects and experience with collaborative development are also common.

Employee Satisfaction and Perks

Employees at Arista Networks report high levels of satisfaction, particularly regarding office perks. The company fosters a positive and engaging work environment where employees are rarely bored and often develop close friendships with colleagues.

Professional Development

Arista Networks is committed to providing strong professional development opportunities for its employees, including interns. This commitment helps interns build a solid foundation for their future careers.

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