Fall 2025 Zemax Software Development Intern (MS/PHD) - Optics

 Requisition #: 16375 

Our Mission: Powering Innovation That Drives Human Advancement  

When visionary companies need to know how their world-changing ideas will perform, they close the gap between design and reality with Ansys simulation. For more than 50 years, Ansys software has enabled innovators across industries to push boundaries by using the predictive power of simulation. From sustainable transportation to advanced semiconductors, from satellite systems to life-saving medical devices, the next great leaps in human advancement will be powered by Ansys. 

Innovate With Ansys, Power Your Career.  

Summary

Join Ansys Optics through our internship program. At Ansys, you will help empower the world's most innovative companies to design and deliver transformational products that enrich human life and advancement. As an Optics R&D Intern, you will contribute technical knowledge and improvements to the best and broadest optical simulation suite which engineers use to solve the most complex design challenges.

In this Optics R&D Intern position, you will conduct research and create prototypes that inform the team’s decision-making. Additionally, you will evaluate our optics products to provide recommendations for improving modeling workflows to enhance Ansys’ customer experience. These activities are key to helping develop our industry-leading simulation software, and you will gain real experience in your field of study. Therefore, as an Intern, you will work on various impactful projects to help maintain, advance, and accelerate Ansys products.

This internship could be a remote role or be located at an Ansys office, and you will support the global Optics team. If interested, our inclusive and diverse team seeks candidates with some experience using Zemax tools who want to improve optical design tools for the next generation of optics. This is a 40-hour per week paid position starting August 2025 concluding December 2025. Although the primary focus is on the fall season, we may consider initiating an early start in summer 2025 based on candidate availibilty. 

Responsibilities

• Creates models of moderately complex optical systems, such as wide-angle cameras, heads-up displays, and medical imaging devices using Zemax OpticStudio to benchmark improvements to existing software functionality and new software capabilities.
• Identifies improvements to the functionality and performance of Zemax OpticStudio through active use of the software application.
• Creates automated workflows for optical system setup and analysis via the Zemax OpticStudio Application Programming Interface (ZOS-API) using Python and/or MATLAB.
• Documents the work process and communicates findings and progress to the global team.
• Works under the general supervision of a development lead or manager.

Minimum Education/Certification Requirements and Experience

• Pursuing a Master’s or Ph.D. in Optical Engineering, Optical Sciences, or Physics with an optics emphasis.
• 1+ year of experience programming with C++, C#, MATLAB, Python, or similar.
• Ability to learn quickly and to collaborate with others.
• Currently enrolled in a full-time degree program in Canada

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

• Technical knowledge and experience with optical engineering, including optical modeling, design, fabrication, testing, and/or building of optical systems.
• 1+ year of experience in optical system design and analysis using commercial ray tracing software.
• Experience with Zemax OpticStudio and the ZOS-API.
• Excellent problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to understand and communicate project overviews and in-depth details.

At Ansys, we know that changing the world takes vision, skill, and each other. We fuel new ideas, build relationships, and help each other realize our greatest potential. We are ONE Ansys. We operate on three key components: our commitments to stakeholders, our values that guide how we work together, and our actions to deliver results. As ONE Ansys, we are powering innovation that drives human advancement

Our Commitments:

• Amaze with innovative products and solutions
• Make our customers incredibly successful
• Act with integrity
• Ensure employees thrive and shareholders prosper

Our Values:

• Adaptability: Be open, welcome what’s next
• Courage: Be courageous, move forward passionately
• Generosity: Be generous, share, listen, serve
• Authenticity: Be you, make us stronger

Our Actions:

• We commit to audacious goals
• We work seamlessly as a team
• We demonstrate mastery
• We deliver outstanding results

VALUES IN ACTION

Ansys is committed to powering the people who power human advancement. We believe in creating and nurturing a workplace that supports and welcomes people of all backgrounds; encouraging them to bring their talents and experience to a workplace where they are valued and can thrive.  

Our culture is grounded in our four core values of adaptability, courage, generosity, and authenticity. Through our behaviors and actions, these values foster higher team performance and greater innovation for our customers.  

We’re proud to offer programs, available to all employees, to further impact innovation and business outcomes, such as employee networks and learning communities that inform solutions for our globally minded customer base. 

WELCOME WHAT’S NEXT IN YOUR CAREER AT ANSYS

At Ansys, you will find yourself among the sharpest minds and most visionary leaders across the globe. Collectively, we strive to change the world with innovative technology and transformational solutions. With a prestigious reputation in working with well-known, world-class companies, standards at Ansys are high — met by those willing to rise to the occasion and meet those challenges head on. Our team is passionate about pushing the limits of world-class simulation technology, empowering our customers to turn their design concepts into successful, innovative products faster and at a lower cost. Ready to feel inspired? Check out some of our recent customer stories, here and here.

At Ansys, it’s about the learning, the discovery, and the collaboration. It’s about the “what’s next” as much as the “mission accomplished.” And it’s about the melding of disciplined intellect with strategic direction and results that have, can, and do impact real people in real ways. All this is forged within a working environment built on respect, autonomy, and ethics.
 

CREATING A PLACE WE’RE PROUD TO BE 
Ansys is an S&P 500 company and a member of the NASDAQ-100. We are proud to have been recognized for the following more recent awards, although our list goes on: Newsweek’s Most Loved Workplace globally and in the U.S., Gold Stevie Award Winner, America’s Most Responsible Companies, Fast Company World Changing Ideas, Great Place to Work Certified (China, Greece, France, India, Japan, Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, and U.K.).

 
For more information, please visit us at www.ansys.com
 

Ansys is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other protected characteristics.
 
Ansys does not accept unsolicited referrals for vacancies, and any unsolicited referral will become the property of Ansys. Upon hire, no fee will be owed to the agency, person, or entity.