Software Engineering Intern – Distributed Simulation Systems

Position Summary

Astera Institute is seeking a Software Engineering Intern to help build infrastructure for large-scale distributed simulation systems, including biological systems and physics-based environments. This internship is ideal for someone excited about systems programming, simulation, distributed computing, or scientific infrastructure. You’ll work closely with experienced engineers on real technical problems spanning simulation, networking, orchestration, and performance optimization.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to distributed simulation infrastructure and tooling
• Help build networking and communication systems for multi-node simulations
• Assist with development of MuJoCo-based or other 3D simulation environments
• Work on systems for large-scale biological simulations
• Improve simulation throughput and system reliability
• Debug and profile performance bottlenecks
• Build internal tools for orchestration, visualization, and developer workflows
• Collaborate with researchers and engineers across simulation and infrastructure projects

Qualifications and Experience

• Strong programming fundamentals
• Experience with C++, Python, or similar systems languages
• Familiarity with Linux development environments
• Understanding of data structures, algorithms, and concurrency fundamentals
• Interest in distributed systems, simulation, or systems engineering
• Ability to learn quickly and work independently on technical problems

Nice to Have

• Experience with C++ projects
• Familiarity with networking or distributed systems concepts
• Experience with physics simulators such as MuJoCo, Unity, or Unreal
• Experience with Python, PyTorch, or scientific computing
• Familiarity with GPU programming or CUDA
• Experience with open-source, research, robotics, or simulation projects
• Interest in biology, neuroscience, or scientific infrastructure