Internship: Fast Physics

We offer you an Ocean of Possibilities . Join our family.

About us

Damen aims to become the world's most sustainable and digitally connected shipyard. The Research, Development & Innovation (RD&I) department develops and implements the technology and  know-how  to achieve these ambitions. We actively  assist  the business in creating an innovative product portfolio and  provide  forward-thinking guidance to improve the quality and performance of Damen's products and services.    You will be joining the Data Science team within Damen RD&I  located  in  Gorinchem . Our department focuses on applying  cutting-edge  data and AI solutions to Damen’s shipbuilding and maritime operations.    The team includes domain experts in physics-informed machine learning, simulation acceleration, predictive maintenance, computer vision, and operational analytics.   This internship is part of a strategic   AI research   project aimed at accelerating complex   ship - performance   simulations   using   physics-informed   machine learning , neural operators, geometric deep learning,   and   emerging Physics Transformer models.

The role

As an intern, you will work on the   Fast Physics project,   where   the   main   objective   is to research, improve, and extend AI models that can act as fast surrogate models for   high-fidelity   ship-performance   simulations . The internship is primarily focused on artificial intelligence and scientific machine learning, with CFD data used as the learning target and validation basis.

Rather than running time-consuming physics-based simulations for every design iteration, we develop AI architectures that learn from vessel geometries, operating conditions, and simulation outputs to estimate quantities such as resistance, pressure   distributions , and flow fields. A central topic is the exploration of recent Physics Transformer models and neural-operator architectures, and how these can be adapted to complex maritime geometries.

You will contribute to improving our current Physics Transformer model and architecture by benchmarking recent research, designing model improvements, running training experiments, and   validating   performance across different hull forms, operating conditions, and simulation fidelities. The outcome should be a stronger AI model prototype and a clear   research contribution on how transformer-based physics models can support fast simulation and early-stage design exploration.  The assignment can be   a thesis/graduate   internship   and   could   start from   September   onwards.

Key accountabilities

You will be responsible for the following aspects:

• 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, with a focus on scalability, generalization, and   prediction   accuracy for maritime simulation data.

• Design and run AI experiments in Python using   PyTorch , including model training, validation, benchmarking, and ablation studies.

• Work with CFD simulation data, ship hull geometries, and numerical outputs as input 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.

Skills & Experience

We are looking for a student who:

• Is   currently pursuing   an   Bachelor   or   Master   in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Data Science, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics or a related technical   field.

• Has strong programming experience in Python and hands-on experience with deep learning frameworks such as   PyTorch ; experience   with transformer   architectures , graph neural networks, neural operators, or scientific machine learning is highly preferred.

• Has an affinity with physics-informed AI, surrogate modeling, or simulation acceleration; familiarity with CFD data, 3D geometry, meshes, or numerical simulation outputs is considered a plus.

• Is motivated to research and improve   state-of-the-art   AI model architectures, especially Physics Transformer models, for real-world engineering applications.

• Communicates fluently in  English.

What we offer

• Mentoring at academic level  will be available throughout the internship.

• Internship/graduation fee and travel allowance  will be paid for the duration of the assignment.

• Opportunity to contribute to a  high-impact innovation project  in collaboration with leading maritime companies,  institutes  and universities.

• Research publication is  likely possible  with  a possible extension  of the internship period.

• Possibility to visit  partner hubs or research centers  (e.g., MARIN in Wageningen) depending on project needs and availability

Other

Are you ready to sail into your new adventure at Damen? Don’t hesitate, send us your motivation letter and resume here.

Due to housing issues we cannot accept international students that do not have accommodation in the Netherlands yet.

Recruiter:
Liselotte van Veenendaal
Email:
[email protected]

Please apply through the Apply Button. Due to GDPR reasons we cannot accept applications by email.