Internship - Vision-Language-Action (VLA) Models for Robotic Manipulation

merl; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 67,000 - 89,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation stipend

Travel coverage to/from MERL

Charlie Card for local commuting

Health insurance eligibility after 90+

Immigration support

Job summary

MERL seeks a highly motivated Ph.D. student to research Vision-Language-Action models for robotic manipulation.

The internship will explore reliable VLA policies with opportunities in multi-arm coordination and adaptive industrial manipulation tasks, including reliability assessment and corrective-action strategies. You will work with MERL researchers to develop and deploy learning-based policies, run simulations and real-world experiments, and present findings at major robotics conferences.

Qualifications

• Current enrollment in a Ph.D. program.
• Strong background in robot learning for manipulation.
• Hands-on experience with VLA models for robotics.
• Proficiency with ROS, Python, and PyTorch.
• Experience with robotic simulation environments and sim-to-real transfer.
• Experience deploying and evaluating learning-based policies on physical robotic platforms.
• Strong publication record or demonstrated research potential.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement novel algorithms in VLA for robotic manipulation.
• Deploy and evaluate learning-based policies on robotic platforms.
• Conduct simulation and real-world experiments to validate methods.
• Disseminate research findings at leading robotics conferences (ICRA, RSS, CoRL, IROS).

Skills

Robot learning for manipulation

VLA models

ROS

Python

PyTorch

Sim-to-real transfer

Policy deployment

Education

Ph.D. program

Job description

MERL is seeking a highly motivated Ph.D. student to conduct research on Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models for robotic manipulation. Recent VLA models have demonstrated impressive capabilities in general-purpose robotic manipulation. This internship will investigate new methods for improving the reliability and effectiveness of VLA policies in real-world manipulation tasks. Potential research directions include exploring VLA-based approaches, multi-arm coordination, and adaptive behaviors for industrial manipulation tasks, with particular emphasis on reliability assessment, policy intervention, and corrective-action strategies.

The selected intern will work closely with MERL researchers to develop and implement novel algorithms, deploy and evaluate learning-based policies on robotic platforms, and conduct both simulation and real-world experiments. The intern will also disseminate research findings at leading robotics conferences, including ICRA, RSS, CoRL, and IROS. The internship start date and duration are flexible.

Required Specific Experience

• Current enrollment in a Ph.D. program
• Strong background in robot learning for manipulation
• Hands-on experience with Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models for robotics, such as pi0, OpenVLA, Octo, GR00T N1, or related state-of-the-art models
• Proficiency with ROS, Python, and deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch
• Experience with robotic simulation environments and sim-to-real transfer
• Experience deploying and evaluating learning-based policies on physical robotic platforms
• A strong publication record or demonstrated research potential

The pay range for this internship position will be 6-8K per month.

Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs, Inc. "MERL" provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, MERL complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

MERL expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of MERL’s employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.

Working at MERL requires full authorization to work in the U.S and access to technology, software and other information that is subject to governmental access control restrictions, due to export controls. Employment is conditioned on continued full authorization to work in the U.S and the availability of government authorization for the release of these items, which might include without limitation, obtaining an export license or other documentation. MERL may delay commencement of employment, rescind an offer of employment, terminate employment, and/or modify job responsibilities, compensation, benefits, and/or access to MERL facilities and information systems, as MERL deems appropriate, to ensure practical compliance with applicable employment law and government access control restrictions.

In addition to base pay, interns receive a relocation stipend, covered travel to and from MERL, and a monthly Charlie Card for local commuting. Interns are invited to participate in weekly social gatherings and professional development opportunities, including research talks by both internal and external speakers. Interns who meet the 90-day waiting period are also eligible for health insurance coverage. MERL provides immigration support for qualified candidates as needed. Employment is considered “at-will,” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary or any other compensation program at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, departmental or Company performance, and market conditions.