Zoox
PhD Research Intern, Physical AI in Perception
TLDR
Contribute to groundbreaking projects in vision-language-action modeling and embodied AI systems within a dynamic team at the forefront of autonomous vehicle technology.
Qualifications:
Currently enrolled in the Ph.D program in Computer Science, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or related field, with the specialization in the CV/NLP/ML
Experience in multi-modal modeling (vision, language, or planning), with deep understanding of Vision Language Model, vision foundation model, flow-matching, temporal modeling, and reinforcement learning techniques
Strong proficiency in PyTorch and modern transformer-based model design
Bonus Qualifications:
Publication records in top-tier AI conferences (CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, etc)
Prior experience building foundation or end-to-end driving models for autonomous driving or robotics, or working deeply on LLM/VLM architectures (e.g., ViT, Flamingo, BEVFormer, RT-2, or GRPO-style policies)
Knowledge of RLHF/DPO/GRPO, trajectory prediction for safety
Requirements:
Currently working towards a Ph.D in a relevant engineering program
Good academic standing
Able to commit to a 12-week internship during one of the following summer 2026 cohorts: May 18th - August 7th, OR May 26th - August 14th, OR June 15th - September 4th
At least one previous industry internship, co-op, or project completed in a relevant area
Ability to relocate to the Bay Area, California (or Boston, Massachusetts) for the duration of the internship
Interns at Zoox may not use any proprietary information they are working on as part of their thesis, any published work with their university, or to be distributed to anyone outside of Zoox
Compensation:
The monthly salary for this position is $9,500. Compensation will vary based on geographic location. Additional benefits may include medical insurance, and a housing stipend (relocation assistance will be offered based on eligibility).
About Zoox
Zoox is developing the first ground-up, fully autonomous vehicle fleet and the supporting ecosystem required to bring this technology to market. Sitting at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and design, Zoox aims to provide the next generation of mobility-as-a-service in urban environments. We’re looking for top talent that shares our passion and wants to be part of a fast-moving and highly execution-oriented team.
Accommodations
If you need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process please reach out to [email protected] or your assigned recruiter.
A Final Note:
You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Zoox, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.
Zoox is building a fully autonomous vehicle fleet from the ground up, coupled with the ecosystem necessary to launch this technology into urban environments. By integrating robotics, machine learning, and innovative design, Zoox is paving the way for a new era of mobility-as-a-service.
- Founded
- Founded 2014
- Employees
- 500+ employees
- Industry
- Automotive
- Total raised
- $990M raised