Physics Modeling and Simulation Intern (6-12 months)

Proception Inc.; Mountain View, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 34,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Meals

Commuter Benefit

Snacks and Drinks

Immigration Support

Career Growth

Job summary

Proception Inc. in Mountain View, CA invites applications for a Physics Modeling and Simulation Intern (6-12 months).

You will build and maintain physics models for robotic hands, manipulators, actuators, and contact-rich tasks, using MuJoCo and other simulators to close the loop between simulation and real-world behavior. You will perform system identification from experimental data, develop validation tools and visualizations, and contribute to a portfolio.

Qualifications

• Pursuing BS or MS in a related field with strong modeling interest.
• Comfort with experimental data, assumptions, and limitations.
• Proficiency in Python or C++ for modeling and data analysis.
• Experience with robotics simulators and validation workflows.
• Understanding of dynamics, kinematics, and controls.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain physics simulation models for robotic hands, manipulators, actuators, and contact-rich tasks.
• Develop simulation workflows using MuJoCo and other simulators such as Isaac Sim, Drake, Bullet, or RaiSim.
• Model rigid-body dynamics, contact, friction, actuation, sensing, and transmission effects.
• Perform system identification using experimental data to estimate parameters and improve sim-to-real.
• Create validation tools, benchmarks, and visualizations comparing simulated and measured behavior.
• Interview process coordination by Proception.
• Portfolio recommended where relevant.
• Interview process: two technical interviews and one CEO interview.

Skills

Python programming

C++ programming

Hands-on data handling

System identification

Parameter estimation

Optimization

State estimation

Differentiable simulation

Trajectory optimization / MPC

Education

BS or MS in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, CS

Tools

MuJoCo

Isaac Sim

Drake

Bullet

RaiSim

URDF

MJCF

SDF

Job description

Physics Modeling and Simulation Intern (6-12 months)

Join our robotics simulation team to build models that let engineers reason about, test, and improve dexterous robotic systems before hardware is in hand. You will work with modern simulators, dynamic models, and real-world measurements to close the loop between simulation and physical behavior.

Requirements

• 01 Pursuing a BS or MS in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 02 Strong understanding of rigid-body dynamics, kinematics, controls, or contact mechanics.
• 03 Hands-on experience with MuJoCo or a comparable robotics simulation environment.
• 04 Strong Python or C++ programming skills for modeling, data analysis, and tooling.
• 05 Comfort working with experimental data and communicating assumptions, limitations, and model results.
• 06 (+) Experience with system identification, parameter estimation, optimization, or state estimation.
• 07 (+) Familiarity with differentiable simulation, trajectory optimization, or model-predictive control.
• 08 (+) Experience with URDF, MJCF, SDF, CAD-to-simulation workflows, or actuator/transmission modeling.
• 09 (+) Experience validating simulation models against robot hardware.

Details & responsibilities

• 01 Build and maintain physics simulation models for robotic hands, manipulators, actuators, and contact-rich tasks.
• 02 Develop simulation workflows using MuJoCo and at least one additional robotics simulator such as Isaac Sim, Drake, Bullet, or RaiSim.
• 03 Model rigid-body dynamics, contact, friction, actuation, sensing, and transmission effects at an appropriate fidelity.
• 04 Perform system identification using experimental data to estimate parameters and improve sim-to-real agreement.
• 05 Create validation tools, benchmarks, and visualizations that compare simulated and measured system behavior.
• 06 A Proception employee will reach out directly to schedule additional interviews.
• 07 A portfolio is recommended where relevant.
• 08 Interview process: two technical interviews and one CEO interview.
• 01 Health Insurance: Health coverage for interns.
• 02 Meals: Lunch and dinner provided.
• 03 Commuter Benefit: Assistance with local transportation costs.
• 04 Snacks and Drinks: Fully stocked office kitchen.
• 05 Immigration Support: TN sponsorship available for eligible candidates.
• 06 Career Growth: Strong potential for full-time conversion after the internship.