³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ

Doing your best work requires a little balance. Every quarter at ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ, employees around the globe have the opportunity to partake in a Recharge Weekend, two extra paid days off, to relax how they see fit. While enjoying their time off, many employees found a deeper connection to their meaningful work at ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ.

For Senior Staff Test Engineer Yaswanth Chalamalasetti, the benefit provided an opportunity to connect with nature, with the waterfall serving as a metaphor for his work on the test floor.

¡°Got a break from testing chips thanks to ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's amazing Recharge Weekend benefit, but I was still ¡®testing the waters¡¯ by hiking to beautiful?Tumpak?Sewu,¡± says Chalamalasetti. ¡°The name means ¡®a thousand waterfalls,¡¯ and it's a great reminder that success (and a good bin¡ªaka a working chip shipped to a customer) comes from a thousand small steps rather than one giant leap. And just like the water flowing here, ideas never stop, and?neither?does ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ.¡±

?

¡°The Recharge Weekend is one of those benefits that genuinely sets ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ apart,¡± says Senior Hardware and Silicon Validation Engineer Naznin Shaikh. ¡°As someone early in my career, it's easy to get caught up in proving yourself and forget to pause. Having this built-in makes it feel truly intentional, not just a policy on paper. I used the last one to go trekking at?Uttari?Betta, and coming back with a clear head made a real difference. It's the kind of culture signal that tells you the company?actually means?what it says about wellbeing.¡±

¡°Starting the career can feel like standing at the base of a hill¡ªexciting but a little daunting,¡± she continues. ¡°My trek is a good reminder that the journey matters as much as the summit. What drew me to ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ was finding a place where growth is encouraged, balance is built into the calendar and the culture backs it up. I'm just beginning the climb, but the foundation feels right.¡±

¡°It¡¯s important to unwind and rejuvenate before the next sprint or marathon at?the?workplace,¡± says Senior Principal Network Architect Aashish Dhoundiyal. On recent Recharge weekends, he has visited Yosemite National Park in California as well as the Vittala Temple in Hampi, India. He relates his work to the design and architecture of the temple:

¡°While not physically connected to microchips, both ancient stone engineering and modern semiconductor design rely on manipulating structural waves, material resonance, and precise geometry to route signals cleanly.¡±

?

?

¡°This is a great benefit because it gives us dedicated time to truly step away, recharge, and spend time doing the things that bring us joy,¡± shares Senior Design Manager Aleezay Ajmal. ¡°It¡¯s a meaningful reminder that taking time for yourself is important, and I really appreciate that ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ supports that.¡±

Recharge Weekends are great opportunities to spend time with family; Ajmal spent the last one with her family at the magical world of Disneyland.

¡°As for what I find magical about ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ, it¡¯s the variety and scale of the work I get to be part of,¡± she says. ¡°My role is incredibly cross-functionally collaborative, which means?no two?days are quite the same. One day I might be focused on day-to-day projects, and the next I¡¯m supporting the creative for a high-visibility initiative. The range of projects that comes across my desk and the opportunity to collaborate with so many different teams along the?way keeps the work exciting. That feeling of never quite knowing what exciting challenge is coming next is part of the magic for me.¡±

Another employee also spent his Recharge with family, welcoming a new member.

¡°The Recharge Weekend is genuinely one of my favorite benefits¡ªit's a real, full disconnect without feeling like you're dropping the ball on something,¡± says Senior Financial Analyst Chris Wong. ¡°This one was extra special?because my son decided to arrive?right on?this weekend, so the timing really couldn't have been better!¡±

He reflects on how being a parent has changed him and how it influences his work:

¡°Honestly, parenthood has changed how I work more than I expected. There's no such thing as ¡®free time¡¯ anymore, so I've had to get a lot sharper about how to dedicate my attention. I think it's made me more focused and quicker at cutting through the noise¡ªwhich can help at work too!¡±

¡°I was pleasantly surprised to learn about this benefit at ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ and it¡¯s something that I look forward to every quarter,¡± says Director of Executive Communications Cindy Ng. ¡°The extra time away from work and away from parenting responsibilities?enable?me to focus on what I need to do to for self-care, and I think that time to recharge makes us more productive at work and more present at home for our families.¡±

¡°With recharge days,¡± she continues, ¡°it¡¯s a good chunk of time to be truly unplugged and to be doing things that we enjoy or don¡¯t have time for during regular business hours.? Recharge weekends allow me to slow down and take time doing things that I love¡ªvisiting a new coffee spot, reading a book, taking a hike or doing a workout, and finishing projects around the house is a perfect day for me.¡±

Principal Engineer Vijay Raman relates his trip to the larger industry challenge of building AI infrastructure.

¡°What struck me most during my visit to Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail,¡± he says, ¡°was not just the beauty of these sites, but the patience, knowledge, and perseverance required to create them. They were built over decades and refined across generations.¡±

¡°Today's equivalents of great citadels are the AI data centers being built around the world at unprecedented speed,¡± continues Raman. ¡°While these modern structures can rise in just a few years, the technologies that power them, many of which ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ develops, are the result of decades of engineering expertise, continuous innovation, and sustained investment. Building and preserving foundational technology is a long journey that requires patience, commitment and vision.¡±

¡°For me, that was the enduring lesson from Machu Picchu: the most impactful achievements are rarely built overnight,¡± he reflects. ¡°Whether constructing ancient civilizations or enabling the next generation of AI infrastructure, lasting success comes from thoughtfully investing in the future while remaining committed to preserving and advancing what has already been built.¡±

###