Minnesota SCALE FAQs

What is Minnesota SCALE? 

Minnesota SCALE is a Twin Cities-area career pathway program building a pipeline of security-clearance-eligible talent for Minnesota’s defense microelectronics industry. It brings together university and industry partners, and a nonprofit coordinator, to connect students with curriculum development, experiential learning opportunities, mentorship, and careers in the field. 

Minnesota SCALE is part of SCALE — the Department of Defense’s Trusted & Assured Microelectronics (T&AM) Scalable Asymmetric Lifecycle Engagement program — a national public-private-academic partnership led by Purdue University and managed by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division. It was established in June 2024 and is funded through the Department of Defense. 

What is the national SCALE program? 

SCALE is the Department of Defense’s national public-private-academic partnership to develop a domestic workforce for the defense microelectronics industry. The national program spans roughly 30 universities and more than 40 industry, federal, and nonprofit partners, with Department of Defense funding exceeding $100 million. Minnesota SCALE is one of the partnerships within that national network. National government partners include organizations such as NASA and Sandia National Laboratories. 

Who runs Minnesota SCALE? 

Minnesota SCALE is coordinated by the Minnesota National Security Ecosystem, a Twin Cities-based nonprofit that facilitates engagement among the program’s academic and industry partners. 

Who are Minnesota SCALE’s partners? 

Minnesota SCALE includes three categories of partners: 

Academic Partners

  • University of Minnesota Twin Cities 

  • University of St. Thomas 

  • Metropolitan State University 

Industry Partners

  • Alter Technology 

  • Collins Aerospace 

  • ForwardEdge ASIC

  • Honeywell

  • Northrop Grumman

  • Polar Semiconductor 

  • SkyWater Technology 

  • Trusted Semiconductor Solutions 

Nonprofit Coordination Partner

  • Minnesota National Security Ecosystem 

Who can participate in Minnesota SCALE? 

Minnesota SCALE is open to you if you’re an undergraduate or graduate student who meets the following criteria: 

  • U.S. citizenship is required for participation in Minnesota SCALE internships and program activities. 

  • Currently enrolled at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, University of St. Thomas, or Metropolitan State University 

  • Registered with the national SCALE program through your university’s point of contact. 

Minnesota SCALE is a strong fit if you’re in engineering, physical science, mathematics, or cybersecurity fields. 

Can industry join Minnesota SCALE? 

Yes! As a Minnesota SCALE industry partner, your hiring needs directly shape what gets taught: curriculum and lab priorities across the three universities are informed by your company's projected engineering and cyber talent needs, so students graduate trained for the roles you're actually trying to fill.  

You get access to a vetted intern candidate pool the Ecosystem recruits and screens on your behalf, the ability to bring students on as paid interns at Ecosystem-reimbursed wage rates with no obligation to hire, and lower-commitment ways to build a pipeline before that — guest lectures, mentoring, career fairs, and site visits. 

It's a direct, low-risk line into the region's next generation of technical talent, before your competitors see it. 

Please contact the Minnesota National Security Ecosystem at MNSCALE@natsecmn.org for more information on how to become an industry partner. 

What kinds of careers does Minnesota SCALE prepare you for? 

Minnesota SCALE prepares you for careers across twelve standardized microelectronics engineering position categories that reflect the full range of roles in the defense microelectronics industry: 

  1. Design Engineers 

  2. Device Engineers 

  3. Process Engineers 

  4. Integration Engineers 

  5. Electronic Design Automation Engineers 

  6. Test and Validation Engineers 

  7. Packaging Engineers 

  8. Software and Firmware Engineers 

  9. Field Application Engineers 

  10. Advanced Technology Development Engineers 

  11. Quality Assurance Engineers 

  12. Cybersecurity Specialists (Various Roles) 

For a brief description of each position category, see the Types of Microelectronics Jobs page. 

How is the program funded? 

Minnesota SCALE is supported through the U.S. Department of Defense’s national SCALE program, part of a broader federal investment in rebuilding America’s domestic semiconductor and microelectronics workforce. 

What is the career pathway? 

Minnesota SCALE guides students through three stages: 

Training focuses on undergraduate freshman and sophomore students, introducing them to defense microelectronics career pathways through curriculum, laboratory coursework, and student engagement activities. 

Participation focuses on junior, senior, and graduate students, offering deeper academic and industry experiential learning — including internships, capstone projects, mentoring, and industry-sponsored research. 

Placement is the ultimate program outcome: students move into internships, entry-level full-time positions with defense microelectronics employers, or relevant graduate degree programs. 

What kinds of opportunities are available? 

Minnesota SCALE offers two kinds of opportunities. On campus, our three university partners collectively offer guest lectures, career fairs, mentoring, capstone and research projects, and expanding coursework and lab access — see Why Join Minnesota SCALE on the homepage for more. With industry, you can pursue a paid internship with an MN SCALE company — see the Industry Internships page for details.