Applied AI Systems Engineer Intern

Rivian; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 45,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Rivian seeks an intern to join the AI platform team in Palo Alto. This highly technical internship focuses on building production-grade AI systems, LLMs, and agentic AI with mentorship from senior engineers.

Eligible candidates are current masters or PhD students in CS/AI/ML, available full-time for the Spring 2027 term (Jan–Aug), onsite in Palo Alto, with no visa sponsorship. Rivian values diverse backgrounds and rigorous scientific thinking.

Qualifications

• Must be currently pursuing a masters or PhD degree at an accredited university.
• Currently pursuing a degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Computer Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
• Exceptional Python programming ability and strong software-engineering fundamentals.
• Demonstrated experience building technically substantial AI/ML or LLM applications beyond introductory coursework.
• Strong foundation in algorithms, data structures, machine learning, statistics, and experimental design.
• Ability to independently navigate complex, ambiguous technical problems and deliver high-quality results.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical trade-offs clearly.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement sophisticated agentic systems that combine LLMs, tool use, retrieval, memory, and structured reasoning.
• Develop multi-agent and long-running workflows using LangGraph, LangChain, LlamaIndex, or equivalent custom architectures.
• Build advanced retrieval and knowledge systems using embeddings, vector databases, semantic search, and knowledge graphs.
• Create reusable platform components for agent orchestration, context management, evaluation, observability, and human oversight.
• Own meaningful technical deliverables from problem formulation and architecture through implementation, testing, and demonstration.
• Develop rigorous evaluation frameworks, golden datasets, automated metrics, and regression tests for nondeterministic AI systems.
• Integrate AI applications with enterprise APIs, databases, data platforms, and internal software systems.
• Perform systematic failure analysis and improve system accuracy, reliability, latency, scalability, and maintainability.
• Research emerging techniques in generative AI, agentic systems, and machine learning, then validate their value through disciplined experimentation.
• Collaborate with experienced AI engineers, researchers, product teams, and technical domain experts across Rivian.

Skills

Python programming

AI/ML fundamentals

Experience with LLMs

Strong communication

Independent problem solving

Education

Masters or PhD student in CS/AI/ML

Accredited university

Tools

LangGraph

LangChain

LlamaIndex

Embeddings/Vector DBs

Job description

Rivian seeks an intern to join the AI platform team in Palo Alto. This highly technical internship focuses on building production-grade AI systems, LLMs, and agentic AI with mentorship from senior engineers.

Eligible candidates are current masters or PhD students in CS/AI/ML, available full-time for the Spring 2027 term (Jan–Aug), onsite in Palo Alto, with no visa sponsorship. Rivian values diverse backgrounds and rigorous scientific thinking.