Fast Physics Internship – AI for Ship Simulations

About the role

You will join the Data Science team within Damen RD&I in Gorinchem, working on the Fast Physics project to develop AI surrogate models for high‑fidelity ship‑performance simulations.

Key responsibilities

• Research the latest developments in Physics Transformer models, neural operators, and physics‑informed machine learning for simulation acceleration.
• Improve the current Physics Transformer model and architecture focusing on scalability, generalisation and prediction accuracy.
• Design and run AI experiments in Python using PyTorch, including training, validation, benchmarking and ablation studies.
• Work with CFD simulation data, ship hull geometries and numerical outputs for model development and evaluation.
• Collaborate with data scientists, naval architects and external research partners to translate technical requirements into AI model improvements.
• Document results, compare model variants and present findings and recommendations to the team regularly.

Required profile

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor or Master in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Data Science, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics or a related technical field.
• Strong programming experience in Python and hands‑on experience with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch.
• Affinity with physics‑informed AI, surrogate modelling or simulation acceleration; familiarity with CFD data, 3D geometry, meshes or numerical simulation outputs is a plus.
• Motivated to research and improve state‑of‑the‑art AI model architectures, especially Physics Transformer models, for real‑world engineering applications.
• Fluent communication in English.

Required skills

• Python
• PyTorch
• Physics Transformer models
• Neural operators
• Graph neural networks
• Scientific machine learning
• CFD data processing
• 3D geometry and mesh handling

What we offer

• Academic‑level mentoring throughout the internship.
• Internship/graduation fee and travel allowance paid for the duration.
• Opportunity to contribute to a high‑impact innovation project with leading maritime companies, institutes and universities.
• Potential for research publication and possible extension of the internship period.
• Possibility to visit partner hubs or research centres (e.g., MARIN in Wageningen) depending on project needs.