Research Intern - Reinforcement Learning, Self-Driving Sunnyvale Sunnyvale

Applied Intuition Inc.; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 41,328 - 55,104; Full time

Job summary

Applied Intuition Inc. in Sunnyvale invites multiple Research Interns to join the Research Group and push forward cutting‑edge physical AI for autonomous driving and robotic generalist systems.

You will collaborate with leading researchers, contributing to high‑quality publications and practical methods that scale to real‑world autonomous vehicles and robots. This is an in‑office role with some flexibility as needed.

Qualifications

• Strong research background and ability to work independently and collaboratively.
• Current PhD (or MSc) studies in machine learning, computer vision and graphics, robotics.
• Passion for next‑generation, scalable autonomy and robotics.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research on reinforcement learning (RL) related topics with applications to autonomous driving.
• Explore foundational RL topics and related areas such as reward learning and imitation learning.
• Work with Research Scientists and Engineers on high‑quality publications for top conferences.

Skills

Research experience

Independent thinker

Collaborative

Education

PhD studies or MSc

Job description

About Applied Intuition

Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion, the Silicon Valley company is creating the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies, trust the company’s solutions to deliver physical intelligence. Applied Intuition is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo. Learn more at applied.co.

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that employees primarily work from their Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments.

About the role:

We are looking for multiple passionate Research Interns to join the Research Group at Applied Intuition. The mission of the group is to create cutting‑edge technology enabling next‑generation physical AI, with emphasis on the two most challenging applications reshaping our everyday life: end‑to‑end autonomous driving and robotic generalist. We have a group composed of leading experts from top institutions and companies, recognized for their exceptional academic and industry contributions—including eight Best Paper awards at premier conferences and journals such as CVPR and ICRA. Learn more at appliedintuition.com/research.

Supported by industry‑leading tools and infra, researchers can access millions of miles of data from large fleets, and deploy methods they develop into various autonomous and robotic systems including self‑driving cars/trucks, autonomous mining/construction machines, humanoid robots and dexterous hands. In addition to your research contributions, you will contribute to and learn from best practices in the autonomy and robotics industries within our fast‑paced and customer‑focused culture. Improvements deployed to our system immediately help our customers with their programs and deliver value to our business.

At Applied Intuition, you will:

• Conduct research on reinforcement learning (RL) related topics including large‑scale self‑play RL, VLA post‑training, large‑scale closed‑loop RL based on neural simulation with applications to autonomous driving
• Diving into fundamental topics on RL with broader applications and potential imitative behavior learning incorporation, and relevant topics such as reward learning
• Work closely with the Research Scientists and Engineers on high‑quality research publications for submission to top‑tier conferences

We’re looking for someone who has:

• Strong research background and skills on relevant topics, and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively on projects
• Current PhD (or MSc) studies in machine learning, computer vision and graphics, robotics
• Passion for next‑generation, scalable autonomy and robotics

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60‑741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.