100%, Lugano, fixed-term

Key information

  • Publication date:10 December 2025
  • Workload:100%
  • Place of work:Lugano

Job summary

Join CSCS, a leader in high-performance computing in Switzerland. This internship offers hands-on experience in a collaborative work environment.

Tasks

  • Contribute to automation and monitoring for internal development.
  • Engage in simultaneous tree traversal on GPUs using advanced techniques.
  • Develop and enhance the RAG-powered CHatterbox chatbot for support.

Skills

  • Must be a student at a Swiss university, BSc or MSc in relevant field.
  • Strong programming skills in Python or C++ required.
  • Familiarity with Linux and cloud technologies is a plus.

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Internships at CSCS - the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre100%, Lugano, fixed-termThe Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) develops and operates cutting-edge, high-performance computing (HPC) systems as an essential service facility for science. The centre enables world-class research through its scientific user lab, which is available to domestic and international researchers in academia, industry, and the business sector. The centre is operated by ETH Zurich and has offices in Lugano (headquarters) and Zurich.Job descriptionBelow you can find three internship topics. In your application please kindly sate which is your prefered internship topic. You can choose up to two prefered topics.Topic A: Automation and Monitoring for an Internal Development PlatformAbstractThe Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) develops and operates a high-performance computing and data research infrastructure that supports world-class science in Switzerland. To achieve this mission, multiple specialized engineering teams must collaborate effectively, utilizing a dynamic set of processes and tools for developing and operating their solutions. For effective collaboration, an integrated and harmonized Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)—covering planning, documentation, coding, building, testing, and monitoring—is essential. The platform team responsible for core SDLC services at the center is seeking a motivated intern to join them.The selected candidate will have the opportunity to make tangible improvements to CSCSs interests (e.g. containers, security, monitoring, etc.)Expected duration of Master Internship4 monthsRequirementsLinux and git usage and configurationProgramming with scripting languages (e.g. Bash or Python)REST APIs familiarityProblem decompositionGood communication skillsBeneficial Skills:CI-CD pipelines buildingAutomated testingLinux containers orchestrationMonitoring frameworksDegreeLast years of BSc or MSc student in computer science or similar fieldWork locationZürich or LuganoTopic B: Simultaneous tree traversal with Producer-Consumer pattern on GPUsAbstractSimultaneous tree traversal, also referred to as dual tree traversal, can be applied to a wide range of problems from collision detection in 3D computer graphics to computational physics and the N-body problem.In the Fast Multipole Method, simultaneous traversal is one of the key ingredients that allow the method to maintain linear O(n) scaling even when particle distributions are highly irregular.On GPUs, simultaneous tree traversal is difficult to implement efficiently, because straight-forward approaches typically lead to high execution divergence. With the introduction of advanced thread-synchronizationfeatures in the CUDA standard though, parallel patterns, such as producer-consumer, have become feasible on GPUs. such as cooperative groups and asynchronous barriers,The goal of this internship is toExplore the use of CUDA cooperative groups and asynchronous barriers to implement simultaneous tree traversal with a producer-consumer pattern on GPUsApply the new implementation to a collision detection problemExpected duration of Master Internship4–6 monthsRequirementsStrong C++ skills.GPU programming experience (CUDA, HIP, SYCL) is beneficial.DegreeMSc student in computer science or computational science and engineering.Work locationZürichTopic C: CHatterbox: A RAG-Powered Chatbot for Documentation and Support at CSCSAbstractThe Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) provides high-performance computing services for Swiss researchers, supporting activities ranging from high-resolution simulations to complex data analyses. To ensure service quality and continuity, CSCS maintains extensive internal documentation in Confluence, a problem-solving knowledge base in Jira Service Desk, and publicly accessible user documentation built with Material for MkDocs. Recently, CSCS developed a prototype chatbot service, CHatterbox, based on Large Language Models (LLMs) and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technologies. The service currently operates internally for CSCS staff, with Slack serving as the interactive frontend.We are looking for a motivated candidate who is interested in contributing to the further development and extension of the CHatterbox service. The proposed internship project includes the following lines of work:Embedding the chatbot agent into the docs.cscs.ch search bar.Generating tentative responses for incoming Jira Service Desk tickets.Exploring methods to compare answers produced by leading RAG/LLM systems.Improving the chatbot’s response quality by collecting user feedback.Investigating approaches to detect similar, repetitive, or contradictory information within the corporate documentation.We estimate an even split between the technical and research components of the project. The technical work will focus on improving the Kubernetes deployment, modifying the CHatterbox code base, and further integrating the service with Jira and Confluence. The research component will concentrate on analysing the behaviour and response quality of the RAG/LLM chatbot.The project is centred around the use of Large Language Models, and the ideal candidate should have a strong background in AI/ML and experience with Python-based machine learning frameworks. A solid understanding of Linux systems and containerized deployment within Kubernetes is a strong asset. The candidate should be independent, motivated, and eager to work in a flexible, international environment.Expected duration of the Master Internship4 months minimum, 6 months preferableRequirementsSolid knowledge of Python ML frameworks and theoretical knowledge in LLMIndependent and motivatedStrong problem-solving skillsBasic understanding of Linux, Kubernetes, and inference services is beneficialSystem engineering skills are beneficialDegreeLast year BSc or currently MSc in computer science, ML, or similar fieldMust be enrolled at a Swiss university for the duration of the internshipWork locationZürich or LuganoProfileFor the above positions students must be enrolled in a Swiss University Master level (or final year Bachelor) and for Third Country nationals the internship must be a mandatory part of their university curriculum.The student must be attending the university in person (not on-line) and must be living in Switzerland. In addition the Masters cannot be already concluded.The candidate must be a student in one of the following fields: Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics or related fields. Ph.D. students will not be consideredThe ideal candidate is a team player and feels comfortable working in an international environment in the heart of Lugano, Canton of Ticino or in Zürich in Switzerland. Excellent command of written and spoken English (our official working language) is a must. Full-time on-site work is required.Additional rules for Third Country Nationals: For 3rd Country Nationals the internship must be a mandatory internship and it must be start during the semester. However, it can flow into the semester holidays. For certain nationalities additional controlls could become necessary.WorkplaceWorkplaceWe offerCSCS values autonomy, ownership, and continuous learning. Students can gain specialised hands-on experience through various challenging activities typical of the HPC field.ETH Zurich is a family-friendly employer with excellent and flexible working conditions.You can look forward to an exciting working environment, cultural diversity, and attractive offers and benefits.We value the diversity of our team, and to further enhance our workforce's diversity, we encourage women to apply.We offer internships of 2-6 months. During this period the intern will be mentored by and collaborating with HPC experts in the centre. A salary of 2’500.00 CHF/month is granted.We value diversity and sustainabilityCurious? So are we.We look forward to receiving your complete online application, which we ask you to refer to Stephanie Frequente, HR Partner.A pdf letter of motivation, including the topic of your choice (e.g. Topic A)Prior to applying, make sure that you meet the above stated requirements, e.g. mandatory internship.PDF CVDiplomas in PDFEmployment certificates in PDFWe only take applications with pdf documents into consideration and applications that meet the internship requirements.As there is a high demand for the internships in certain periods and we can only offer 2 internships per quarter, kindly also state your availability (prefered time frame for the internship).Please note that we exclusively accept applications submitted through our online application portal. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered.For further information, please visit our website or contact Dr Guilherme Peretti-Pezzi, E-Mail schreiben ETH ZürichCurious? So are we.We look forward to receiving your complete online application, which we ask you to refer to Stephanie Frequente, HR Partner.A pdf letter of motivation, including the topic of your choice (e.g. Topic A)Prior to applying, make sure that you meet the above stated requirements, e.g. mandatory internship.PDF CVDiplomas in PDFEmployment certificates in PDFWe only take applications with pdf documents into consideration and applications that meet the internship requirements.As there is a high demand for the internships in certain periods and we can only offer 2 internships per quarter, kindly also state your availability (prefered time frame for the internship).Please note that we exclusively accept applications submitted through our online application portal. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered.For further information, please visit our website or contact Dr Guilherme Peretti-Pezzi, E-Mail schreiben

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