Internship – Physically Based Rendering, Vulkan & Digital Twins (f/m/x)

ZEISS Group; Ulm; Hybrid; EUR 17,000 - 25,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Mentorship by PhD-level researchers

Option to continue as working student

Bachelor/Master thesis opportunities

Flexible remote/on-site work

Access to modern graphics hardware

Job summary

ZEISS Group in Ulm is seeking motivated students to join Corporate Research and contribute to the development of in-house rendering and digital twin technologies. You will work on state-of-the-art GPU rendering features, physically based rendering, and shader pipelines using Vulkan and Slang within an interdisciplinary team.

As part of the team, you will gain mentorship from PhD-level researchers, have access to modern graphics hardware, and enjoy a flexible mix of remote and on-site work.

Qualifications

• Enrolled in Computer Science, Visual Computing, Computer Graphics, Computational Engineering, Physics, or related field.
• Strong programming skills in C++ and software engineering fundamentals.
• Solid understanding of computer graphics concepts such as rendering pipelines, shaders, lighting, materials, or GPU programming.
• Interest in real-time rendering, physically based rendering, ray tracing, digital twins, simulation, or graphics systems.
• Experience with Vulkan, Slang, or CUDA or related technologies is beneficial.
• Experience with neural rendering techniques such as Gaussian splatting is beneficial.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams.
• Good English communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Developing and extending GPU-accelerated rendering features using Vulkan
• Implementing physically based rendering (PBR) and material models
• Designing and optimizing shader pipelines using Slang and modern graphics APIs
• Investigating advanced rendering techniques such as ray tracing, global illumination, and real-time lighting
• Developing prototypes and demonstrators for visual digital twin applications
• Running experiments, benchmarking performance, and evaluating rendering quality
• Collaborating closely with researchers and engineers to integrate new technologies into ongoing projects
• Presenting your work and contributing to technology evaluations

Skills

C++ programming

Graphics concepts

English communication

Team collaboration

Independent work

Education

Enrollment in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Vulkan

Slang

CUDA

Job description

As a student, you work with your colleagues on an equal footing and create ideal conditions for your future career.

Step out of your comfort zone, excel and redefine the limits of what is possible. That's just what our employees are doing every single day – in order to set the pace through our innovations and enable outstanding achievements. After all, behind every successful company are many great fascinating people.

In a spacious modern setting full of opportunities for further development, ZEISS employees work in a place where expert knowledge and team spirit reign supreme. All of this is supported by a special ownership structure and the long-term goal of the Carl Zeiss Foundation: to bring science and society into the future together.

Join us today. Inspire people tomorrow.

Diversity is a part of ZEISS. We look forward to receiving your application regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, philosophy of life, disability, age, sexual orientation or identity.

Aufgaben

Shape the Future of Digital Twin Technology at ZEISS

At ZEISS Corporate Research, we explore breakthrough technologies that shape future generations of ZEISS products. We are looking for motivated students who are passionate about computer graphics, GPU programming, visual computing, and digital twins to contribute to the development of an in-house physically based rendering platform. You will work on realistic rendering and physics-based simulation technologies that enable highly interactive visual digital twins for future ZEISS applications.

As part of our research team, you will contribute to the development of state-of-the-art rendering and simulation technologies.

• Developing and extending GPU-accelerated rendering features using Vulkan
• Implementing physically based rendering (PBR) and material models
• Designing and optimizing shader pipelines using Slang and modern graphics APIs
• Investigating advanced rendering techniques such as ray tracing, global illumination, and real-time lighting
• Developing prototypes and demonstrators for visual digital twin applications
• Running experiments, benchmarking performance, and evaluating rendering quality
• Collaborating closely with researchers and engineers to integrate new technologies into ongoing projects
• Presenting your work and contributing to technology evaluations

What We Offer

• Work on cutting-edge rendering and digital twin technologies
• Mentorship by experienced researchers and PhD-level experts
• Opportunity to influence future ZEISS products and technology roadmaps
• Access to modern graphics hardware and research environments
• Possibility to continue as a working student for up to two years and/or write your bachelor or master thesis
• Flexible working arrangements with a mix of remote and on-site work

Profil

• Enrolled in Computer Science, Visual Computing, Computer Graphics, Computational Engineering, Physics, or a related field
• Strong programming skills in C++ and software engineering fundamentals
• Solid understanding of computer graphics concepts such as rendering pipelines, shaders, lighting, materials, or GPU programming
• Interest in real-time rendering, physically based rendering, ray tracing, digital twins, simulation, or graphics systems
• Experience with Vulkan, Slang, or CUDA or related technologies is beneficial
• Experience with neural rendering techniques such as Gaussian splatting is beneficial
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams
• Good English communication skills

Nice to Have

• Personal rendering projects
• Graphics-related coursework
• Open-source contributions
• GitHub portfolio or demo projects

Students who have built their own rendering engine, game engine components, GPU applications, shaders, or graphics research prototypes are especially encouraged to apply.

Important note

Please be advised that a valid work permit for Germany is required for non-EU citizens. Unfortunately, applications without a valid work permit and sufficient German language skills may not be considered.