2023 Summer Internship
List of Themes
March 30, 2023

List of themes* IDs are jumped around because the themes held only in Japanese are omitted from the list.
If you are interested in the themes, please see the list of themes in Japanese at the following URL:
https://www.preferred.jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/831d7079054f3a9adf79bef7f143a578-1.pdf
ID

Theme

Area

Category

1

Development of training methods for large-scale language
modelsComputing infrastructure

Project internship

7

Computational electromagnetics and electric circuit analysis
with open source software

Computing infrastructure/ MN-Core

Project internship

8

Development MN-Core compiler and toolchain

Computing infrastructure/ MN-Core

Project internship

9

Development of framework and library for deploying deeplearning models in real world

Computing infrastructure/ PFVM

Project internship

10

Development of CuPy

Computing infrastructure/ CuPyProject internship

11

Development of Optuna and Optuna Dashboard

Computing infrastructure/ Optuna

Project internship

12

Crystal structure prediction using Matlantis and Optuna

Computing infrastructure/ Optuna
Materials informatics /Matlantis

Research internship13

Research and Development for material discovery algorithms
in Matlantis

Materials informatics /Matlantis

Project internship

14

Development and operation of a web system for Matlantis
which is a general-purpose atomic-level simulator

Materials informatics /Matlantis

Project internship

15

Applied research and development of machine learning andatomic simulation on materials

Materials informatics /Matlantis

Research internship

16

Applied research on machine learning/molecular simulation
for drug discovery

Drug discovery

Research internship

17

Synthesizable molecular design

Drug discovery

Research internship

18

Development of training methods for models using
gene-related graphs

Life science

Project internship

19

Application of deep tabular models to healthcare

Life science

Project internship

20

Biomedical text mining using large language models

Life science

Research internship22

Research on machine learning methods for medical imaging

Life science

Research internship

26

Designing and Implementing Application of AI-Generated
Content.

Entertainment

Project internship

27

Application of deep learning techniques to creation

Entertainment

Research internship

36

Autonomous driving system for trucks.
Development of perception modules such as 3D object
detection.

Autonomous driving fortrucks

Project internship40

Developing machine learning methods for ﬁnancial
applications

Finance

Project internship41

Machine learning research for ﬁnancial applications

FinanceResearch internship42

Research and development on the estimation/prediction ofvarious weather conditions using the advanced
high-spatio-temporal resolution 3D weather data

Remote sensing

Project internship43

Research and development of advanced segmentation
techniques for SAR image data

Remote sensing

Research internship45

Diﬀusion models with structural inductive bias

Deep learning

Research internship1

46

Symmetry-based 3D representation learning and its
computer vision applications

Deep learning

Research internship

47

Interactive System for 3D/4D reconstruction

HCI

Research internship

48

Desktop VR

HCI

Research internship

49

Object manipulation using robotic arms with a multitude ofsensors

Robotics

Research internship2

1
Development of training methods for large-scalelanguage models
Area:
Category:

Computing infrastructure
Project internshipIn this project, you will use PFN's large-scale clusters to develop technology related
to language models with large-scale language data, which has been attracting
attention in recent years.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Implementation experience using deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch● Knowledge of basic computer science●

Want requirements
Deep learning acceleration experience● Knowledge of machine learning using deep learning● Knowledge of natural language processing●↑ Back to list of themes37Computational electromagnetics and electric circuit
analysis with open source software
Area:
Category:

Computing infrastructure / MN-Core
Project internship

Computational electromagnetics and electric circuit analysis are used fordevelopment of MN-Core, an AI accelerator developed by PFN. Open source
multi-purpose linear algebra library, ﬁnite element method solver and method of
momentum solver will be evaluated to see how they are adapted to development of
MN-Core series.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Knowledge of system of linear equations● Capability of writing simple programs for automation● Knowledge of static electric ﬁeld, static current, electric circuit and ordinary
diﬀerential equations●↑ Back to list of themes48
Development MN-Core compiler and toolchain
Area:
Category:

Computing infrastructure / MN-Core
Project internship

You will work on MN-Core compiler and related software improvements. Your maintask would be● Porting of HPC applications for MN-Core● Improvement of MN-Core compiler algorithm● Development proﬁler for MN-Core● Development tools for MN-Core Monitoring and power eﬃcient control with
k8s cluster

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements●

Python, C++ programming

Want requirements
Experience of low level optimization● Knowledge of deep learning compiler stack●↑ Back to list of themes

59
Development of framework and library for deploying
deep learning models in real world
Area:
Category:

Computing infrastructure / PFVM
Project internship

Develop compiler/runtime (PFVM) that optimizes computational graphs of deeplearning models to perform inference performantly (in terms of execution time andmemory usage), targetting on various backends such as CUDA or edge devices.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Programming in Python● Basic knowledge of computer science● Basic knowledge of compiler●

Want requirements
Programming in C++● Experience on deep learning compilers (ONNX, LLVM, MLIR, etc.)● Development experience of multi-pass compilers● Basic knowledge of optimization algorithms●↑ Back to list of themes

610
Development of CuPy
Area:
Category:

Computing infrastructure / CuPy
Project internshipIn this project, you will work on development of CuPy, an open-source array libraryfor GPU. (1) Development of new features for performance improvement, (2)Implementation of a prototype for new GPU backends (e.g., Metal, oneAPI), (3)Enhancing SciPy compatible APIs.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Programming in CUDA
● Programming in Python and NumPy● Basic knowledge of computer science●

Want requirements
Experience with distributed data processing in multi-GPU environments(NCCL, MPI, etc.)● Development experience with Metal Shading Language●↑ Back to list of themes711
Development of Optuna and Optuna Dashboard
Area:
Category:

Computing infrastructure / Optuna
Project internship

For Optuna and Optuna Dashboard, OSS hyperparameter optimization frameworks,(1) develop new optimization algorithms, (2) improve the code quality and design, or(3) improve processes of OSS operation/support.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements●

Basic knowledge in computer science

Want requirements
●
●
●
●
●
●

Experience in the development of or contribution to open source softwares
Experience of the development or support of software in a multi-person team
Any achievement in machine-learning area such as paper publication orawards at competitions
Expert knowledge in Bayesian optimization or black-box optimization
algorithms
Experience of the modern web frontend development
Experience of the UI/UX design↑ Back to list of themes812
Crystal structure prediction using Matlantis andOptunaArea:
Matlantis
Category:

Computing infrastructure / Optuna, Materials informatics /Research internship

Using Matlantis, which is the versatile atomistic simulator, and Optuna, which is theblack-box optimization software, you will search unknown crystal structure on thelarge scale computing cluster in PFN.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements●

Basic knowledge in computer science●

Basic knowledge or interest of physic, chemistry, or material science

Want requirements
Expert knowledge in black-box optimization (especially, genetic algorithms)● Expert knowledge in material informatics● Expert knowledge in parallel computation on the large scale computing
cluster●↑ Back to list of themes913
Research and Development for material discovery
algorithms in Matlantis
Area:
Category:

Materials informatics / Matlantis
Project internship

Develop algorithms to search materials for Matlantis. This may involve implementing
methods based on computational chemistry or developing models to predict somephysical property values or structures from datasets.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements●

Coding skills in Python

Want requirements
Knowledge of computational chemistry● Experience in using deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch● Motivation to bring value to customers and connect academic research toreal products●↑ Back to list of themes

1014
Development and operation of a web system for
Matlantis which is a general-purpose atomic-level
simulator
Area:
Category:

Materials informatics / Matlantis
Project internshipWork on the development and operation of Matlantis features. (e.g., improving
release methodology, investigating and implementing Telepresence and Karpenter,
optimizing API Gateway scheduling, cross-document search, developing
JupyterLab extensions, etc.)

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Basic knowledge in computer science● Familiarity with Python or Go●

Want requirements
Experience with cloud computing (AWS/GCP/Azure, etc.)● Knowledge of container orchestration systems (Kubernetes)● Client and server model implementation (REST/gRPC/GraphQL, etc.)● Experience with tools that enable Infrastructure as Code (Terraform /CloudFormation)●↑ Back to list of themes1115
Applied research and development of machinelearning and atomic simulation on materials
Area:
Category:

Materials informatics / Matlantis
Research internshipWill work on the development of machine learning based atomic simulator, or theapplication of machine learning to molecular dynamics calculations and materials
exploration techniques. Reference: Matlantis https://matlantis.com/

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Basic knowledge of computer science● Basic knowledge or interest of physic, chemistry, or material science●

Want requirements
Knowledge of college degree in physics, chemistry, or materials science● Computational science experience. For example, in-depth knowledge of andexperience implementing and using simulation techniques such as quantum
chemical calculations, molecular dynamics methods, etc.
● Experience in research and development and writing papers on the
integration of physical simulation and machine learning●↑ Back to list of themes

1216
Applied research on machine learning/molecularsimulation for drug discovery
Area:
Category:

Drug discovery
Research internship

You will work on research topics related to molecule (small molecules or proteins)design for drug discovery. The project topic will include 1) protein / peptide-binder
design, 2) application of neural network potential for drug discovery, and so on.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Basic knowledge of computer science● Knowledge of chemistry or biology or physics (e.g., organic chemistry,
medicinal chemistry, structural biology, or molecular simulation, etc)●

Want requirements
Experience in team development● Experience in deep learning related researches (publications or oralpresentation in scientiﬁc conferences are preferred)●↑ Back to list of themes

1317
Synthesizable molecular design
Area:
Category:

Drug discovery
Research internshipTo synthesize a novel compound, chemists have to manually craft the synthetic
pathway and they may need to test several diﬀerent pathways to synthesize one
compound. To ease this burden, it is better to consider synthesizability during thedesign process. As an example, possible tasks can be: 1) create a set of chemical“building blocks” from which various drug-like compounds can be synthesized, 2)
create a synthesizability aware generative model.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements●

Basic knowledge of computer science

Want requirements
Knowledge in any of the following domain:● chemistry (e.g., synthetic chemistry, organic chemistry, etc)
● biology● machine learning
Experience in any of the following techniques:● Organic synthesis● Retrosynthetic pathway planning (manual or machine learning based)● Designing or using generative model↑ Back to list of themes1418
Development of training methods for models using
gene-related graphs
Area:
Category:

Life science
Project internship

There are various graphs that represent known relationships in the ﬁeld of
bioinformatics such as gene pathways. In this theme, you will work on developing amore accurate model by using such graph data.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Experiences with Deep learning frameworks (preferably PyTorch)● Deep knowledge of Machine Learning and Computer Vision●

Want requirements●

Knowledge of bioinformatics↑ Back to list of themes1519
Application of deep tabular models to healthcare
Area:
Category:

Life science
Project internshipIn this theme, we address the application of machine learning and deep learningtechniques to healthcare data, especially health checkup, health insurance, clinicaldata. Examples of topics include (but are not limited to) improving the accuracy of
disease classiﬁcation using missing value imputation techniques, applying deep
tabular models to tabular healthcare data, and patient stratiﬁcation using machinelearning.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Writing and reading skill in Japanese (We expect this theme uses datasetsthat contain Japanese descriptions. Communication with mentors in English
is allowed)● Ability and experience in at least one of the followings:
1. R&D in machine learning
2. R&D in the life sciences (e.g., bioinformatics, biomedical sciences andengineering, public health)●

Want requirements
Python programming● Machine learning for tabular data (e.g., missing value completion, time series
prediction)● Data analysis on healthcare data such as health checkup, health insurance,clinical data (e.g., chronic diseases, genetic diseases)● Deep learning●↑ Back to list of themes

1620
Biomedical text mining using large language models
Area:
Category:

Life science
Research internshipResearch and development in life science text mining using large language models

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Ability and/or experience of at least one of the followings:● R&D about Machine learning of at life-science related ﬁelds such as
bioinformatics and biomedical science and engineering.
● R&D about Natural Language Processing

Want requirements
Python programming● Use of PubMed API● Use of large language models●↑ Back to list of themes17

22
Research on machine learning methods for medical
imaging
Area:
Category:

Life science
Research internshipWe will develop machine learning methods to solve problems in the medical
imaging domain (e.g. domain generalization, medical image synthesis, applicationsof foundation models, survey of recent models etc.).

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Deep knowledge of image analysis methods● Coding skills in Python● Experience using deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch●

Want requirements
Knowledge of biology equivalent to at least undergraduate level● Experience of research with images or video data
● Publishing papers in the ﬁeld of biology, mathematics, or informatics● Experience developing applications using machine learning or deep learning●↑ Back to list of themes

18

26
Designing and Implementing Application of
AI-Generated Content.
Area:
Category:

Entertainment
Project internshipIn this project, you will be working with Entertainment team members at PFN. You
will focus on the design and implementation of applications that combine humancreativity and AI technology.
You will develop new features for existing services or new applications. (Please referto the information below for existing services.)● Crypko https://crypko.ai/● Memes https://memes.crypko.ai/

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
One of the following skills or practical experience:● Application & web development, system design● Product design, UI & UX design

Want requirements
●
●
●
●
●
●
●

Frontend (JavaScript, Vue, React, etc.)
Backend (Python, Django, etc.)
Cloud computing
UI design tools (such as Figma)
Data analysis
Experience with deep learning frameworks, such as PyTorchInterest in anime, games, etc.

↑ Back to list of themes

1927
Application of deep learning techniques to creation
Area:
Category:

Entertainment
Research internshipIn this project, you will be working with Entertainment team members at PFN. You
will take part in the research of deep learning techniques for creativity.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements●

Familiarity with Python

Want requirements
●
●
●
●
●

Experience in using deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch
Publications in machine learning domain
Domain knowledge in Computer Vision, Computer Graphics, Generative
Model
Skills in software development
Like anime/game↑ Back to list of themes2036
Autonomous driving system for trucks.
Development of perception modules such as 3D
object detection.
Area:
Category:

Autonomous driving for trucks 1
Project internship

Target tasks include development of 3D object detection methods using LiDAR dataand images, reproduction of existing methods and their incorporation into realvehicles, as well as implementation of automatic scene extraction pipelines for
subsequent annotation.

Communication language
EnglishMust requirements
Python, C++ programming● Experience with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow etc.
●

Want requirements
Experience working on 2D or 3D object detection (papers/conference
presentations are desirable)● Experience with TensorRT● Ability to communicate in English● Experience developing practical tools, web applications, etc●↑ Back to list of themes

1

Regarding the "Autonomous driving for trucks" area, a position for part-timeengineer is also being oﬀered by T2 inc., which was established by Preferred
Networks and Mitsui & Co. for the practical application of self-driving trucks. If you
are interested, please visit the T2 website (https://t2.auto/recruit/Part-time_Engineer.html). You may apply for both positions.
21

40
Developing machine learning methods for ﬁnancial
applications
Area:
Category:

Finance
Project internship

You will work on developing machine learning methods for ﬁnancial applications(FinanceML). Your main task would be (i) developing python library for FinanceML(e.g., pfhedge) or (ii) (re-)implementation of state-of-the-art FinanceML methods.
Example topics: deep hedging, deep-learning-based time-series prediction andgeneration, and machine-learning-based trading strategy.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Python programming● Experience in deep learning frameworks (We recommend PyTorch)● Basic knowledge and development experience in machine learning and deeplearning●

Want requirements
Interest in quantitative ﬁnance, ﬁnancial engineering, economics and relatedﬁelds (We welcome in-depth knowledge of the ﬁelds)● In-depth knowledge in one or more areas of computer science, statistics,
optimization etc.
●

↑ Back to list of themes2241
Machine learning research for ﬁnancial applications
Area:
Category:

FinanceResearch internship

PFN Quantitative Finance Team invites research internship applications on the topic
of machine learning techniques for ﬁnancial applications, including (1) deep
hedging, (2) deep-learning-based time-series prediction and generation, and (3)machine-learning-based trading strategy. We welcome self-driven students who can
independently and proactively execute research projects.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Python programming● In-depth knowledge in one or more areas of computer science, statistics,
optimization etc.
● Basic knowledge of ﬁnance and related ﬁelds● Experience in writing and publishing research papers●

Want requirements●

Experience in publishing a paper of ﬁnance AI↑ Back to list of themes23

42
Research and development on theestimation/prediction of various weather conditions
using the advanced high-spatio-temporal resolution
3D weather data
Area:
Category:

Remote sensing
Project internship

We are collaborating with NICT to analyze the advanced high-spatio-temporal
resolution 3D weather radar, which NICT developed recently. Interns will be
expected to engage research tasks that can take leverage of this rich and massive
radar data. Possible tasks are: quantitative precipitation estimation, precipitation
particle classiﬁcation, lightening localization and prediction, 3D wind estimation, andothers.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Expertise in Deep Learning-based machine learning● Good experiences in developing machine learning models in PyTorch● Capability of propelling your R&D projects proactively and in a self-motivatedmanner: identify problems, analyze causes, devise solutions●

Want requirements
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●

Experiences in writing a technical paper
Knowledgeable about physics of whether and atmosphere
Mathematical skill to formulate and approximate physical phenomenon into
statistical models
R&D experiences in a multi-person team with Git, Github
R&D experiences with virtual container/environment such as Docker, andKubernetes
Development experiences on GPU clusters (private or public)
Experiences dealing with GIS data and related libraries, softwares
Accustomed to command-line interfaces in Linux and/or Mac

24

Eager to start R&D activities from collecting and organizing your own dataset● Team working and communications skills●↑ Back to list of themes25

43
Research and development of advanced
segmentation techniques for SAR image data
Area:
Category:

Remote sensing
Research internship

SAR images are actively sensed images using radar, which makes analysis of thesurface possible from satellites and airborne sensors even during night and badweather conditions. Interns will be expected to research Domain Adaptation andWeakly Supervised Learning using large scale datasets from a variety of remotesensing sensors for computer vision tasks such as semantic segmentation in aerial
SAR images.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Expertise in deep Learning-based machine learning● Good experiences in developing machine learning models in PyTorch● Capability of propelling your R&D projects proactively and in a self-motivatedmanner: identify problems, analyze causes, devise solutions●

Want requirements
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●

Experiences in writing a technical paper
Knowledgeable about, and/or having R&D experiences on computer vision,in particular, semantic segmentation
Knowledgeable about, and/or having R&D experiences on satellite image
processing
Knowledgeable about, and/or having R&D experiences on domain adaptation
and/or weakly supervised learning
R&D experiences in a multi-person team with Git, Github
R&D experiences with virtual container/environment such as Docker, andKubernetes
Development experiences on GPU clusters (private or public)
Experiences dealing with GIS data and related libraries, softwares
Accustomed to command-line interfaces in Linux and/or Mac

26

Eager to start R&D activities from collecting and organizing your own dataset● Team working and communications skills●↑ Back to list of themes27

45
Basic research to introduce structural induction bias
into diﬀusion models
Area:
Category:

Deep learning
Research internship

Recently, diﬀusion models were proven to be very powerful in image generation;
however, its application to diﬀerent modalities still have much room for
improvements and theoretical investigation. We are looking for a courageous
applicant to join us in our research in developing a new framework to introduce
structural prior knowledge of the dataset to the basic framework of diﬀusion typemodel to extent its applications to various types of dataset.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Certain level of mathematical knowledge, such as those related to stochastic
process and algebra● Coding Skills in Python and Deep learning●

Want requirements
Ph.D Candidateship● Experience with theoretical research●↑ Back to list of themes28

46
Symmetry-based 3D representation learning and its
computer vision applications
Area:
Category:

Deep learning
Research internship

We are looking for a research-minded applicants to join us in developing a newframework of utilizing geometric inductive bias to improve the sample eﬃciency andout-of-distribution generalization capability of the neural-network model. Although
we expecting to focus much on the analysis of 3D image, we are open to explore a
new direction of application.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Experiences with Deep learning frameworks (preferably PyTorch)● Deep knowledge of Machine Learning and Computer Vision●

Want requirements
Ph.D. candidacy● Record of publication in top-tier conference/journal as a corresponding
author● capability of propelling your R&D projects proactively and in a self-motivatedmanner: identify problems, analyze causes, devise solutions.
●↑ Back to list of themes

2947Interactive System for 3D/4D reconstruction
Area:
Category:

HCI
Research internship

We invite you to join our HCI research into building interactive systems in 3D/4D
reconstruction. We are interested in utilizing human knowledge to reconstruct andcontrol 3D/4D spaces captured by cameras. More speciﬁcally, we will researchsupporting frameworks to capture real-world environments and edit reconstructedenvironments.

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Familiarity with the Python programming● Experience in development of user interface or computer graphics (anyplatform: Javascript, Unity, etc.)●

Want requirements
Experiences in writing a technical paper● Experience in deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch)● Experience in 3D reconstruction technologies●↑ Back to list of themes

30

48
Desktop VR
Area:
Category:

HCI
Research internshipResearch and develop novel interactive experiences for desktop VR

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements●

Experience developing XR applications

Want requirements
Proven track record of XR application development using Unity, e.g. projects
on Github, apps, games, research prototypes etc.
● Publications at HCI/XR conferences or journals●↑ Back to list of themes

31

49
Object manipulation using robotic arms with amultitude of sensors
Area:
Category:

Robotics
Research internshipWe will research object manipulation using a Franka Emika panda arm with multiple
sensors, such as a tactile sensor and RGB-D camera. The robot will recognize andgrasp transparent objects, such as test tubes, and place them. The research topics
are the recognition of transparent objects, high-precision manipulation under
uncertain, (and the development of a robot hand).

Communication language
English/JapaneseMust requirements
Minimum level of English to be able to communicate and read research
articles (Interviews will be in English.)● Robot system development experience, using C++ and Python with ROS
Noectic (Knowledge of ros_control is required.)● Machine Learning (Computer Vision/Reinforcement Learning/Self-Supervised
Learning. Experience in Robot Perception/Control methods is a plus)●

Knowledge and experience* in the above three and at least one of the following:* Required level is the ability to reproduce and implement a research article, or
submit an article.
● Object manipulation with a robotic arm (Experience in working with novel
hardware and sensors is a plus. R&D experience at Franka Emika panda arm
is a plus.)● Mechanical engineering (Experience in designing, planning, and deploying
robotic systems at scale is a plus )● Physics Simulators (Experience in using MuJoCo/PyBullet/Isaac Sim to set
up novel environments)
Notes: Requirements are updated at Apr. 14↑ Back to list of themes
32