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Computational Scientist, Differentiable Physics

Periodic Labs· Science
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Menlo Park, CA$250k - $350kFull-timePosted 1mo ago

About the role

Periodic Labs is building AI systems that can simulate physical science, verify predictions, and train on the full scientific method. We are looking for a Computational Scientist to build differentiable, accelerator-ready simulations for industrially relevant continuum-physics problems.

Responsibilities

  • Build and extend differentiable solvers for continuum simulation (including but not limited to fluid dynamics), especially multi-scale and multi-physics problems.
  • Implement numerical methods from equations and papers, and diagnose convergence, stability, and modeling failures.
  • Combine simulation with deep learning for surrogate modeling, learned physics, inverse problems, parameter estimation, and optimization.
  • Use automatic differentiation and modern accelerators with JAX or PyTorch to make simulations scalable and trainable.
  • Validate models against experiments, trusted benchmarks, or high-fidelity simulations.
  • Create datasets and evaluations to guide the development of LLMs to accelerate and automate these tasks.

Qualifications

  • A PhD or equivalent research experience in applied mathematics, computational science, physics, engineering, computer science, or a related field.
  • Code-level experience building or substantially modifying PDE solvers, numerical methods, or differentiable simulations.
  • Deep expertise in at least one continuum domain, with breadth across domains or a demonstrated ability to learn new physics quickly.
  • Meaningful experience building, training, and evaluating deep-learning models for physical systems.
  • Strong Python and software-engineering skills, especially JAX, PyTorch, Julia, or C++.
  • Experience applying simulation to realistic scientific or engineering problems, not only clean academic benchmarks.
  • A startup mentality: ownership, good judgment under uncertainty, and enthusiasm for building from scratch.

Skills

Required:Differentiable solversNumerical methods / PDE solversDeep learning for physical systemsPythonJAX / PyTorch / Julia / C++
Last updated Sep 30, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Periodic Labs

From bits to atoms.

Periodic Labs is an artificial intelligence research company pioneering the next leap in scientific discovery. We operate at the intersection of machine learning and scientific experimentation under the thesis that that true understanding of the universe is only possible by interacting and experimenting on it.

artificial intelligencescientific discoverymachine learningscientific experimentation
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