Physics Simulation Engineer

Zeromatter Technologies Inc; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Zeromatter Technologies Inc is seeking a Physics Simulation Engineer to extend the dynamics engine behind vehicles, drones and robots. You will implement numerical solvers, advance collision handling and adapt cutting-edge simulation research for production use.

The role emphasizes large-scale, stable simulations, code quality, and collaboration with controls/validation teams. Strong C++/Rust and math background are essential.

Qualifications

• Engineering or related technical degree or equivalent hands-on experience shipping a physics/dynamics engine.
• Significant experience developing in real-time or offline physics/dynamics engines for games, VFX, robotics, or research.
• Strong software engineering practices including clean architecture, testing, code review, and version control.
• Strong understanding of linear algebra, quaternions and numerical methods.
• Ability to read and adapt techniques from simulation research papers.
• Familiarity with numerical time integration for dynamics (implicit/semi-implicit Euler, symplectic, PBD/XPBD).
• Experience solving large systems via iterative or direct solvers.
• Experience with contact/collision handling in simulation contexts.
• Experience building dynamics simulations at scale (BVH, multithreading, GPU, sparse matrices).
• Strong debugging and profiling skills in a numerical context.
• Proficiency in Rust and/or C++.
• Bonus: variational/energy-based formulations of implicit integration.

Responsibilities

• Implement and extend numerical solvers for dynamics simulation with scalable methods.
• Develop high-fidelity contact and collision handling for large-scale scenes.
• Read, evaluate, and implement techniques from simulation research for production engines.
• Validate correctness of new methods mathematically and empirically.
• Diagnose and resolve simulation instabilities and profile solver performance.
• Contribute to material/constitutive models and DOF representations.
• Write clear documentation translating math into engineer friendly concepts.
• Collaborate with controls and characterization engineers to serve validation needs.

Skills

Software engineering practices

Linear algebra

Quaternions

Multivariable calculus

Numerical methods

Reading/ adapting research papers

Time integration (implicit/semi-implic

Large systems solving (PCG/solvers)

Contact/collision handling

Debugging and profiling

Rust

C++

Education

Engineering or related technical degree (CS/Math/Physics/Mech/Aero)

Tools

Rust

C++

GPU programming

BVH-based collision detection

Multithreading

Sparse matrix management

Job description

As a Physics Simulation Engineer on our Dynamics team, you'll build and extend the physics engine that gives every simulated vehicle, aircraft, drone, and robot physically accurate behavior. Responsibilities may vary from month to month, but here are some examples of things you might find yourself working on.

Responsibilities

• Implement and extend numerical solvers for dynamics simulation, including implicit, semi-implicit, and constraint-based methods (e.g. matrix-free PCG, direct solvers, PBD/XPBD-style projections), that scale to large, contact-rich scenes.

• Develop high-fidelity contact and collision handling, including penetration handling, penalty and dual methods, and friction, that holds up at scale.

• Read, evaluate, and implement techniques from state-of-the-art simulation research and from other production engines, adapting them for use in our own.

• Validate the correctness of new methods you implement, both mathematically and empirically, so the team can stand behind the engine's fidelity.

• Diagnose and resolve simulation instabilities (e.g. energy drift, blow ups, conditioning issues) and profile solver performance to find and fix bottlenecks.

• Contribute to material/constitutive models and degree-of-freedom representations spanning rigid bodies, articulated systems, cloth, and deformables.

• Write clear documentation and translate complex math into concepts approachable by engineers without a physics or applied-math background.

• Collaborate closely with the team's controls and characterization engineers to make sure new engine capabilities serve real vehicle and robot validation needs.

Qualifications

• An engineering or related technical degree (e.g. computer science, applied mathematics, physics, mechanical/aerospace engineering), or equivalent hands-on experience shipping a physics or dynamics simulation engine.

• Significant experience developing or contributing to a real-time or offline physics/dynamics simulation engine in games, VFX, robotics, or research.

• Strong software engineering practices, including clean architecture, testing, code review, and version control.

• Strong intuitive understanding of linear algebra, quaternions, multivariable calculus, and numerical methods.

• Ability to read, understand, and adapt techniques from simulation research papers and/or other production engines.

• Familiarity with numerical time integration for dynamics (e.g. implicit/semi-implicit Euler, symplectic integrators, or constraint-based methods like PBD/XPBD).

• Experience solving the large systems that arise in dynamics simulation, whether through iterative methods (e.g. PCG), direct solvers, or other specialized approaches.

• Experience with contact and collision handling in a simulation context (e.g. penalty methods, constraint-based methods, friction models).

• Practical experience building dynamics simulations at scale (e.g. BVH-based collision detection, multithreading, GPU programming, or sparse matrix management).

• Strong debugging and profiling skills in a numerical context — diagnosing instabilities, tracking down blow ups and energy drift, and benchmarking solver performance.

• Proficient in Rust and/or C++.

• Bonus: Deep familiarity with variational/energy-based formulations of implicit integration (e.g. Incremental Potential Contact, Projective Dynamics) and modern solvers such as Vertex Block Descent.

• Bonus: High-fidelity, penetration-free contact handling at scale, including primal-dual or dual methods.

• Bonus: Domain expertise in a specific simulation area (e.g. codimensional rods, cloth, FEM, MPM/SPH, material modeling).

• Bonus: Published research in a top venue (e.g. SIGGRAPH) and/or experience applying novel research methods in an industrial (non-academic) setting.

• Bonus: Experience with variational/energy-based, block-structured, or similarly modular physics engine architectures.

• Bonus: Experience with vehicle, aircraft, drone, or robotics dynamics simulation, or sim-to-real transfer.

• Bonus: Familiarity with machine learning frameworks, training, and inference. Not a core requirement for this role, but preferable given close collaboration with the team's more robotics/ML-focused engineers.