2027 Summer Intern, PhD, Research, Perception Foundation Models

First Roles; Mountain View (CA); Hybrid; USD 97,000 - 138,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits program

Job summary

Waymo in Mountain View, CA is seeking a PhD intern for the AI Foundations team to advance perception foundation models. This hybrid onsite internship offers hands-on research with leading-edge diffusion and transformer methods, under senior guidance.

You will design ML experiments, model iterations, and interpret results while collaborating with researchers across Waymo. Applicants should be pursuing a PhD in CS, robotics, or ML and be proficient in Python and at least one ML framework.

Qualifications

• Pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, ML or a related quantitative field.
• Experience with modern ML techniques such as transformers and diffusion models.
• Proficiency in Python.
• Familiarity with ML frameworks (PyTorch or TensorFlow).
• Strong publication record preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design and run ML experiments for perception foundation models.
• Model, iterate, and evaluate results.
• Collaborate with Waymo AI Foundations teams and other researchers.

Skills

Python

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Education

PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, ML, or related field

Tools

Python

Job description

# 2027 Summer Intern, PhD, Research, Perception Foundation ModelsInternship Live nowMountain View, CAPosted October 19, 2026Last seen at Waymo on October 19, 2026.FirstRoles never charges new grads or interns to apply.## About this roleWaymo 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 DriverTM—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:ML experiment designML modeling and iterationEvaluation and interpretation of resultsYou have:Currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Machine Learning, or a related quantitative fieldFamiliarity with modern ML techniques (transformers, diffusion models etc)Familiarity with at least one ML framework (pytorch, tensorflow etc)Proficiency in PythonWe prefer:Evidence of research output (eg: top tier publications)Exposure to robotics, perception or AV technologyFamiliarity with world modelingNote: This will be a hybrid onsite internship position. We will accept resumes on a rolling basis until the role is filled. To be in consideration for multiple roles, you will need to apply to each one individually - please apply to the top 3 roles you are interested in.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