Research Software Engineering Intern (f/m/d)

Description

QuantumDiamonds is building the world’s first commercial quantum sensing tools for chip failure analysis. As our Research Software Engineering Intern in Pre-Development, you bring our measurement software together. A measurement protocol is the recipe our Quantum Diamond Microscope (QDm) follows for one measurement: how laser, microwaves and camera are sequenced and timed, and how raw camera frames become a magnetic field image of a chip. Our engineers write new protocols whenever they test a new idea, and several backends for running them grew in parallel. You turn them into one shared Python framework that our engineers extend.

The challenge is a framework R&D still uses long after your internship: flexible enough that a new protocol is a day’s work, automated enough that a measurement runs without someone watching it, and structured enough that the next engineer extends it without reading all of it. An experienced colleague from the team mentors you and sets the architecture; you make that trade-off real in code, working with Claude Code every day, as our engineers do.

This is a full-time internship for 6 months, during or after your studies, starting as soon as possible.

Who we are

Founded in 2022 as a spin-off of TU Munich, QD leverages quantum sensors to rapidly capture three-dimensional current maps within multi-layer chips. Our strong, international team of over 70, including physicists, engineers, data scientists, and other experts, works side by side with major semiconductor manufacturers, supporting chip debugging and accelerating yield analysis. Backed by top-tier deep tech investors, semiconductor experts, and strategic public programs, we have ensured long-term stability, shifting from breakthrough to scale - and shaping the next chapter in chip testing.

QuantumDiamonds GmbH, headquartered in Munich, Germany, develops and manufactures semiconductor inspection systems based on quantum sensing. Spun out of the Technical University of Munich in 2022, the company uses nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond to map electrical current with micrometer precision inside advanced 2.5D and 3D chip architectures. Nine of the world's ten largest semiconductor manufacturers are engaged with QuantumDiamonds, with systems deployed across Europe, the United States, and Asia. The company is investing €152 million to build the world's first production facility for quantum sensing-based semiconductor inspection tools, supported under the European Chips Act.

Benefits

• Picture this:
• Quantum sensors that see inside the most advanced chips on Earth, right where two frontier fields collide.
• Nobel-Prize physics aimed at real customers with real problems, in production now, not someday.
• Physicists, data scientists, and engineers building side by side, turning deep science into tools the industry actually runs on.
• An international team that runs at hard problems for fun, where knowledge moves fast and so do you.
• Still unsure about why joining us?
• You'll get to build a company together with a brilliant and welcoming team on a product that has never been done before.
• From Day 1, you'll own your own topics end to end and see the direct impact of your work on how the world sees QuantumDiamonds.
• Our technology is the cutting edge of tomorrow, starting today and not in 10 years.
• You’ll be part of a high-growth company backed by top-tier investors.
• Let’s make the invisible visible!
• What will you do
• Bring the measurement software of Pre-Development together into one shared Python framework, to a target architecture your mentor defines, and migrate the existing measurement protocols onto it.
• Keep the CI/CD pipeline on GitHub Actions healthy as the framework grows: tests, linting, packaging, releases.
• Give first-pass reviews on pull requests from our engineers (tests, conventions, API conformance) before your mentor approves them.
• Help our engineers extend the stack: new measurement protocols become modules in the framework, and you validate the migrated ones on our QDm systems together with them.
• Document the framework and hand it over so the team runs it on its own after your internship.
• What is expected of you
• Enrolled in or recently graduated from a degree program in computer science, software engineering, computational engineering, physics or electrical engineering with a strong software focus.
• Available full time for 6 months, starting as soon as possible.
• Python is your working language: you structure packages, write type hints and tests, and have refactored or consolidated code you did not write.
• Git and CI are routine for you, and you know how to make hardware-dependent code testable: mocked instruments, recorded data and simulation, with runs on real hardware as a separate stage.
• AI coding agents are part of how you work, and you check their output the way you check your own.
• You review code and take review well, you can agree on a common interface with engineers who each prefer their own solution, and you treat your colleagues as your users.
• Fluent in English. On-site in Munich.
• Experience with instrument control or lab automation in Python, with frameworks such as qudi, QCoDeS or PyMeasure, or contributions to open-source projects are a plus, not required. What we want you to bring is the patience to read code you did not write and the discipline to leave it better structured than you found it.
• Our benefits
• Mission: At QD, we’re driven by more than just building great products - we aim to make a lasting difference. Joining us means contributing to meaningful work that goes beyond business as usual.
• Impact & growth: This is an exciting stage of our journey, and your voice matters. You’ll have the chance to shape our culture, influence key decisions, and grow alongside a company that’s scaling fast.
• Mentoring: An experienced colleague from the team mentors you throughout your internship.
• Health & fitness: With a company-sponsored Wellpass membership, you’ll have access to countless gyms, classes, and wellness offers across Germany to stay healthy and active.
• Team & culture: We believe the best ideas come when we connect outside the office. From regular off-sites to team events, you’ll be part of a collaborative and supportive environment.
• Well-being & balance: We value rest and recovery. That’s why you’ll enjoy 24 vacation days plus public holidays to recharge and return inspired.