Student Assistant (f/m/d) | Scientific Software Development for Computational Mechanics

The Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) conducts research to advance intelligent systems that perceive, learn, and interact. Through fundamental research across computational, physical, and social dimensions, we shape artificial intelligence and robotics to advance knowledge and benefit society. We are looking for a Student Assistant (f/m/d) in Scientific Software Development for Computational Mechanics. The Mechanics for Intelligent Structures research group, led by Dr. Renate Sachse at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS), is seeking a student assistant (m/f/d) to support the development of an open, collaborative research software framework for computational mechanics. The position is ideal for students who enjoy scientific software development and would like to contribute to modern research infrastructure used by an international community.

Responsibilities

Contribute to the development of an open, collaborative research software framework for computational mechanics; Implementing computational mechanics algorithms in Python and C++; Translating existing research codes and numerical methods into a modern collaborative software framework; Developing reusable, well-documented, and maintainable scientific software; Implementing finite element and related numerical methods; Testing, validating, and benchmarking newly implemented methods; Contributing to documentation, examples, and software quality; Collaborating with researchers to integrate newly developed methods into ongoing research projects

Requirements

Be enrolled in a Master's program in computer science, mechanical engineering, applied mathematics, physics, computational engineering, or a related discipline; Have excellent programming skills in Python and C++; Have experience with software development, version control (Git), and collaborative coding; Have an interest in scientific computing and computational mechanics; Write clean, well-structured, and maintainable code; Be able to work independently and reliably; Have good oral and written communication skills in English

Nice to have

Experience with finite element methods, numerical methods, or scientific computing

Benefits

Opportunity to contribute to an open-source research software project with long-term scientific impact; Work on modern scientific software engineering and computational mechanics; Close collaboration with researchers developing next-generation simulation methods; Flexible working hours (up to 20 hours per week); Opportunity to co-author scientific software publications where appropriate