Intern- Robot Perception

symbotic; Wilmington (MA); On-site; USD 44,000 - 61,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Transportation benefits

Housing benefits

Job summary

Symbotic is seeking Master’s/PhD students for Summer 2027 internships and co-ops on the Robot Perception team in Wilmington, MA. You will explore perception and computer vision projects, design datasets, and develop training pipelines from literature review to production deployment.

You'll tackle SLAM, sensor fusion, and multi‑robot algorithms, gaining mentorship and professional development while working with PyTorch/TensorFlow, OpenCV, ROS/ROS 2, and cloud tools.

Qualifications

• Pursuing a Master’s or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Machine Learning, or a related technical field.
• Proficiency in Python and/or C++, including experience writing code and working in Jupyter notebooks.
• Experience with machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.
• Familiarity with computer vision and perception tools such as OpenCV, including image classification, object detection, segmentation, and camera calibration.
• Exposure to robotics perception concepts such as sensor fusion, SLAM, 3D pose representations, coordinate transforms, probabilistic graphical models, and Bayesian inference.
• Working knowledge of sensors, including RGB cameras, 3D sensors, and point cloud processing tools such as PCL.
• Experience working in Linux environments and using command‑line tools.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure, REST APIs, and/or SQL‑based data tools such as Snowflake.
• Exposure to deployment or optimization tools such as Docker, ROS/ROS 2, Jetson, ONNX, VLMs, or Vision‑Language‑Action models is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Research and experiment with traditional computer vision methods and deep learning methods for object detection, classification, segmentation, pose estimation, anomaly detection on images or videos.
• Evaluate and benchmark computer vision methods on production data.
• Deploy software to production on robot hardware.
• Design data pre and post processing methods.
• Document designs, code, experiments, evaluations.
• Identify high‑impact scenarios where AI Planning and machine learning can be applied to optimize the Symbotic robotics software.
• Adapt state‑of‑the‑art approaches or develop high‑performance algorithms to solve real‑world multi‑robot problems.
• Conduct simulations and experiments to validate the performance of the multi‑robot algorithms.
• Present results in verbal and written communications internally, and in top‑tier academic venues.

Skills

Python

C++

PyTorch

TensorFlow

OpenCV

ROS/ROS 2

Linux

Docker

Cloud platforms

PCL

SLAM

Sensor fusion

SQL/Snowflake

Education

Master's or PhD in CS/Robotics/EE/ML

Tools

Docker

ROS/ROS 2

Jetson

ONNX

VLMs

Job description

Who we are

With its A.I.-powered robotic technology platform, Symbotic is changing the way consumer goods move through the supply chain. Intelligent software orchestrates advanced robots in a high-density, end-to-end system – reinventing warehouse automation for increased efficiency, speed and flexibility.

Timeframe:

Summer (May-Aug 2027)

At Symbotic, Early Career talent plays a meaningful role in helping us reimagine the future of supply chain automation. Through our Internship and Co-op programs, students have the opportunity to contribute to real projects, collaborate with experienced engineers and business leaders, and gain hands‑on exposure to the technologies powering our end-to-end robotics and automation solutions. We are looking for curious, motivated students who are excited to solve complex problems, bring new perspectives to cross‑functional teams, and see their work make an impact in a fast‑moving, innovative environment.

Along the way, Interns and Co‑ops are supported through mentorship, professional development, networking opportunities, and a robust calendar of events designed to help them build community and grow their careers. Symbotic offers transportation and housing benefits for students who meet our relocation requirements.

Continue reading below to learn more about this exciting opportunity!

About the Opportunities

Symbotic’s Robot Perception team is an accomplished group of engineers who are working on sophisticated algorithms in areas such as perception and computer vision.

• Perception and Computer Vision interns will evaluate and propose new projects for replacing legacy tools with vision‑based algorithms. These interns will scope projects from literature review, to dataset design and aggregation, training pipeline development, all the way through production deployment. Practical projects include vision‑based collision avoidance.
• SLAM interns will develop and test algorithms for robust robot localization in complex, real‑world environments, applying sensor fusion, state estimation, and probabilistic methods to solve SLAM challenges at scale.

What you’ll do

• Research and experiment with traditional computer vision methods and deep learning methods for object detection, classification, segmentation, pose estimation, anomaly detection on images or videos.
• Evaluate and benchmark computer vision methods on production data.
• Deploy software to production on robot hardware.
• Design data pre and post processing methods.
• Document designs, code, experiments, evaluations.
• Identify high‑impact scenarios where AI Planning and machine learning can be applied to optimize the Symbotic robotics software.
• Adapt state‑of‑the‑art approaches or develop high‑performance algorithms to solve real‑world multi‑robot problems.
• Conduct simulations and experiments to validate the performance of the multi‑robot algorithms.
• Present results in verbal and written communications internally, and in top‑tier academic venues.

What you’ll need

• Pursuing a Master’s or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Machine Learning, or a related technical field.
• Proficiency in Python and/or C++, including experience writing code and working in Jupyter notebooks.
• Experience with machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.
• Familiarity with computer vision and perception tools such as OpenCV, including image classification, object detection, segmentation, and camera calibration.
• Exposure to robotics perception concepts such as sensor fusion, SLAM, 3D pose representations, coordinate transforms, probabilistic graphical models, and Bayesian inference.
• Working knowledge of sensors, including RGB cameras, 3D sensors, and point cloud processing tools such as PCL.
• Experience working in Linux environments and using command‑line tools.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure, REST APIs, and/or SQL‑based data tools such as Snowflake.
• Exposure to deployment or optimization tools such as Docker, ROS/ROS 2, Jetson, ONNX, VLMs, or Vision‑Language‑Action models is a plus.

What’s good to have

• Publications at high‑impact conferences/journals (e.g., CoRL, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, RSS, ICRA, IROS, RAL, AAAI, ICAPS, IJCAI, JAIR, etc.).

Our Environment

• Up to 10% of travel may be required. Employees must have a valid driver’s license and the ability to drive and/or fly to client and other customer locations.
• The employee is responsible for owning a credit card and managing expenses personally to be reimbursed on a bi‑weekly basis.

About Symbotic

Symbotic is an automation technology leader reimagining the supply chain with its end‑to‑end, AI‑powered robotic and software platform. Symbotic reinvents the warehouse as a strategic asset for the world’s largest retail, wholesale, and food & beverage companies. Applying next‑gen technology, high‑density storage and machine learning to solve today's complex distribution challenges, Symbotic enables companies to move goods with unmatched speed, agility, accuracy and efficiency. As the backbone of commerce the Symbotic platform transforms the flow of goods and the economics of supply chain for its customers. For more information, visit www.symbotic.com.

We are a community of innovators, collaborators and pioneers who embrace our differences, because we know unique perspectives make us stronger and smarter. Every perspective matters. We depend on the collective voices of our employees, customers and community to help guide us as we build a better place to work – for you and the world. That’s why we’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

We do not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, or genetic information.

The base range for this position in the posted location is $32.00 - $44.00 however, base pay offered may vary depending on job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. The compensation package includes medical, dental, vision, disability, 401K, PTO and/or other benefits.