PhD Internship: Humanoid Robot Loco-Manipulation

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

Job summary

MERL is seeking a highly motivated Ph.D. student to research foundation models for humanoid loco-manipulation in factory automation, focusing on capabilities, safety, and robustness.

The internship will develop humanoid systems for material handling tasks in warehouse and manufacturing environments, collaborating with MERL researchers to integrate Vision-Language-Action models, world models, and robot control for robust long-horizon manipulation.

Qualifications

• Pursuing a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Hands-on research with Vision-Language-Action models and multimodal robotics.
• Experience with world models for planning, prediction, or decision making.
• Sim-to-real transfer and robotic simulation (Isaac Lab, MuJoCo).
• Strong publication record or potential in robotics/AI conferences/journals.

Responsibilities

• Research on foundation models for humanoid loco-manipulation in factory automation.
• Develop algorithms integrating VLA models, world models, and robot control.
• Collaborate with MERL researchers to publish at top conferences.
• Explore safety and robustness in long-horizon manipulation.

Skills

VLA models

Multimodal foundation models

World models

Sim-to-real transfer

Publications in top venues

Education

PhD candidate (Mechanical Eng / Computer Science / Electrical Eng)

Tools

Isaac Lab

MuJoCo

Job description

MERL is seeking a highly motivated Ph.D. student to research foundation models for humanoid loco-manipulation in factory automation, focusing on capabilities, safety, and robustness.

The internship will develop humanoid systems for material handling tasks in warehouse and manufacturing environments, collaborating with MERL researchers to integrate Vision-Language-Action models, world models, and robot control for robust long-horizon manipulation.