Machine Learning Intern, Manipulation

Persona AI, Inc.; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 27,552 - 41,328; Full time

Job summary

Persona AI is seeking a Machine Learning Intern (Manipulation) in Houston to help build robotics ML models and infrastructure. You will work with the ML team on real-world humanoid robots, focusing on manipulation, navigation, and perception, with opportunities to contribute to the Persona ML software stack.

We value candidates with experience in robot learning, deep learning frameworks, and cloud computing, and we welcome advanced students pursuing Masters or PhDs.

Qualifications

• Candidates should have experience in robot learning and projects in manipulation.
• Experience with deep learning frameworks.
• Ability to write high-quality software.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment.
• Strong understanding of reinforcement learning for manipulation.

Responsibilities

• Develop and improve machine learning models and the infrastructure.
• Monitor and evaluate model performance in real-world settings.
• Contribute to Persona ML software stack across manipulation, navigation, locomotion, and perception.

Skills

Deep learning experience

Team collaboration

First principles thinking

Robotics knowledge

Education

Master's or PhD in CS/Robotics/ML

Tools

PyTorch

JAX

TensorFlow

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

Job Title: Machine Learning Internship, Manipulation

Department: Robotics Software Engineering

Employment Type: Internship, Fall 2026 (August - December) or Spring 2027 (January - May)

FLSA: Exempt

Location: Houston, TX – Onsite

Who We Are

Persona AI is developing and commercializing rugged, multi-purpose humanoid robots that perform real work. Persona AI’s founding team has a decades-long history in humanoid robotics, bionics, and product development delivering robust hardware that has touched the stars, worked miles below the surface of the ocean, and even roamed Disney Parks. Our mission is focused squarely on shipping beautiful, reliable products at massive scale, while building a customer-focused team to achieve these aims.

About the Role

We're looking for a Machine Learning Intern (Manipulation) to help build Persona's machine learning models and infrastructure. We are primarily interested in candidates with experience and relevant projects in robot learning, but can be flexible depending on aptitude and energy.

As a Machine Learning Intern at Persona, you will have an incredible opportunity to work with humanoid robots and solve practical problems in the real world.

What You'll Do

• Work with the ML team to develop and improve machine learning models and the infrastructure.
• Monitor and evaluate the performance of models in the real world.
• Collaborate on the design and development of the Persona ML software stack and support its application in manipulation, navigation, locomotion, and perception.

What We're Looking For

• Courage and grit to tackle some of the hardest problems in embodied AI.
• Enthusiasm for working collaboratively in a high paced team environment.
• Experience with deep learning frameworks (Pytorch, JAX, TensorFlow, etc.)
• Experience with cloud computing to develop models, manage data, etc. (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Strong understanding of the state of the art research in robot learning (behavior cloning and reinforcement learning for manipulation, world models, etc.).
• Understanding of the challenges of deploying neural network models in the real world.
• Capable of writing high-quality software.
• Thrive in fast-paced and ambiguous environments.
• Strong first principles thinker.

Preferred or Bonus Qualifications

• An advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in computer science, robotics, machine learning, or another related field.
• Published papers at top ML/Robotics conferences (ICML, ICRA, CoRL, RSS, NeurIPS).

Persona AI is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.