2026 Summer Intern, PhD, Research, World Modeling Evaluation

Waymo LLC; Mountain View (CA); Hybrid; USD 97,000 - 138,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid onsite internship

Benefits eligibility

Job summary

Waymo LLC in Mountain View, CA, offers a hybrid onsite PhD internship focused on autonomous driving research and AI foundations. You will work on world modeling, prototype ideas, and present findings for possible publication. This role emphasizes deep learning, Python proficiency, and strong research credentials.

The position is hybrid onsite with competitive hourly pay and comprehensive benefits eligibility, reflecting Waymo's commitment to training the next generation of AI researchers.

Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science, Robotics, or a similar technical field of study.
• Research experience in computer vision and machine learning.
• Strong programming skills in Python.

Responsibilities

• Solve research problems in world modeling and reasoning in autonomous driving systems.
• Prototype and iterate research ideas.
• Present research findings to a wide audience within Waymo, with the goal of publishing results to the research community.

Skills

Python

Computer Vision

Machine Learning

Education

PhD student in Computer Science/Robotics

Job description

Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the world's most trusted driver. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has focused on building the Waymo Driver —The World's Most Experienced Driver— to improve access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. The Waymo Driver powers Waymo’s fully autonomous ride-hail service and can also be applied to a range of vehicle platforms and product use cases. The Waymo Driver has provided over ten million rider-only trips, enabled by its experience autonomously driving over 100 million miles on public roads and tens of billions in simulation across 15+ U.S. states.

The mission of the Waymo AI Foundations team is to develop machine learning solutions addressing open problems in autonomous driving, towards the goal of safely operating Waymo vehicles in dozens of cities and under all driving conditions. As part of our work, we also initiate and foster collaborations with other research teams in Alphabet. AI Foundations areas that we are currently focusing on include reinforcement learning, learning from demonstration, generative modeling, Bayesian inference, hierarchical learning, and robust evaluation.

Waymo interns partner with leaders in the industry on projects that create impact to the company. We believe learning is a two-way street: applying your knowledge while providing you with opportunities to expand your skill‑set. Interns are an important part of our culture and our recruiting pipeline. Join us at Waymo for a fun and rewarding internship!

You will:

• Solve research problems in world modeling and reasoning in autonomous driving systems
• Prototype and iterate research ideas
• Present research findings to a wide audience within Waymo, with the goal of publishing results to the research community

You have:

• Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science, Robotics, or a similar technical field of study
• Research experience in computer vision and machine learning
• Strong programming skills in Python

We prefer:

• First-authored publications from top-tier Computer Vision, graphics, or robotics conferences
• Research experience in generative models or large language models
• Hands-on experience with deep neural networks and familiarity with at least one type of deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch, Jax, Tensorflow, etc.

Note: This will be a hybrid onsite internship position.

The expected hourly rate for this full-time position is listed below. Interns are also eligible to participate in the Company’s generous benefits programs, subject to eligibility requirements.

Hourly PhD Pay

$85—$85 USD