NCI Intern

Australian National University; Canberra; On-site; AUD 73,000 - 81,000; Full time

Job summary

The Australian National University invites a motivated postgraduate student to join the NCI Internship Program. You will work on a defined project within NCI Australia, contribute to HPC, data, and cloud initiatives that support national research.

This structured internship offers hands-on experience in a professional research environment, collaboration with experienced staff, and a formal showcase at the end to present your deliverables and learnings to a wider audience.

Qualifications

• Postgraduate student in a master's by research or PhD at an Australian university.
• Be present in Australia during the internship.
• Have full-time working rights for the internship duration.
• Demonstrate interest in computational research, HPC, data science, cloud computing, AI/ML, or related areas.
• Foundational programming or analytical skills.

Responsibilities

• Work on a defined NCI project contributing to HPC, data, and cloud initiatives.
• Collaborate with experienced technical staff and researchers to deliver outcomes.
• Apply your skills to real-world research challenges and prepare for a final project showcase.

Skills

Programming fundamentals

Analytical skills

Education

Master's by research or PhD, enrolled at an Australian university

Job description

Classification: ANU Officer 3

Salary package: $73,292 - $80,834 per annum plus 17% superannuation

Terms: Full-time, Fixed-Term (12-weeks)

In 1946, ANU was founded to help rebuild a changing world. We’re still at it, 80 years later. For generations, our people have turned curiosity into ideas that have shaped Australia and our region. Learn more about ANU, our history and the community that has shaped us: ANU at 80

The Position

Join the NCI Internship Program and work on a defined project within NCI Australia, contributing to high-performance computing (HPC), data, and cloud initiatives that support national research. This structured program provides hands-on experience in a professional research environment, enabling you to apply your technical skills to real-world challenges.

You can apply to one project from below. Selection will consider your background and motivation, evidence of relevant technical skills, how well your skills match the project’s needs, and your potential to contribute to NCI’s research ecosystem.

Project Overview - More specific selection criteria for each project can be found in the position description:

Project 1: Evaluating FP8 Mixed Precision for Scientific AI on NVIDIA H200 GPUs

This project will investigate how FP8 can be used for scientific AI workloads while maintaining numerical stability, model accuracy and scientific performance.

Project 2: Extending Zephyrus: Agentic AI for Australian Weather and Climate Data

This project will implement NCI’s new data-source abstraction and validate it on ERA5 global reanalysis and BARRA2 Australian regional reanalysis, enabling trustworthy AI-assisted analysis across more NCI data.

Project 3: A Python Interface for MOM6 Ocean Modelling

This project will develop a Python programmeable interface to create scriptable, exportable and shareable MOM6 configurations, supporting easier performance analysis, provenance and reproducibility.

Project 4: Scaling Near-Real-Time Analysis of Nanopore Sequencing Data

This project will investigate using NCI’s large-scale compute resources to process sequencing data in batches as it becomes available, overlapping data transfer and computation to enable near-real-time analysis and feedback.

As part of the program, you will collaborate with experienced technical staff and researchers, contribute to meaningful project outcomes, and engage in NCI’s broader training and research ecosystem. The internship culminates in a formal showcase, where you will present your project deliverables, outcomes, and key learnings to a wider audience.

The Person

A motivated postgraduate student interested in computational research, data science, HPC, or cloud technologies, eager to join a structured internship program that develops practical skills.

Possess foundational programming or analytical skills and be keen to apply them in a practical setting. You offer strong problem-solving capabilities, a willingness to learn, and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team. Effective communication skills, along with good time management and the ability to meet deadlines, are essential.

The Department

NCI Australia is Australia’s national research computing facility, providing high-performance computing, data, and cloud services to support world-class research. The Internship Program is part of NCI’s Training and Education Strategy, aimed at developing future capability in computational science and digital research infrastructure.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree program (master's by research or PhD) at an Australian University .
• Be present in Australia during the internship.
• Have full-time working rights in Australia for the duration of the internship.
• Be able to commit full-time for the internship period.
• Demonstrate interest in computational research, HPC, data science, cloud computing, AI/ML, research software, or related areas.
• Have foundational skills relevant to the project(s) you apply for, such as programming, analytics, modelling, or scientific computing.

We encourage applications from Indigenous researchers, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, women and gender diverse researchers, people with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups.

The University actively encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. For more information on employment opportunities, contact our Indigenous Employment Consultant on [e-mail]
ANU values diversity and inclusion and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to people of all backgrounds and identities. For more information about staff equity at ANU, click here. For enquiries about the application process, or if you require reasonable adjustment to apply for this role, please contact the hiring manager on the above listed details.

Please note: The preferred candidate must have rights to live and work in Australia and will be required to complete mandatory pre‑employment declarations and background checks relevant to the role they have applied for, in accordance with the Background Checking Procedure and the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence.