Research Scientist Intern, Robotics

Meta; Burlingame (CA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 141,000; Full time

Job summary

Meta is seeking a Research Scientist Intern in Robotics to advance the state of the art in robot learning and embodied intelligence. You will design, implement, and evaluate novel policies, architectures, and prototypes on real robot hardware and in simulation.

This role involves hands-on experimentation and collaboration with researchers across hardware, controls, software, and product teams. You will work on perception, manipulation, navigation, and control using modern deep learning and

Qualifications

• Pursuing or have a PhD in robotics, CS, CV, AI, EE/ME, controls, or related field.
• Proficiency in Python/C/C++/Java or similar languages.
• Experience building systems with ML/deep learning methods.
• Must have work authorization at time of hire.

Responsibilities

• Develop state-of-the-art algorithms for robot perception, manipulation, navigation, and control.
• Train and evaluate robot learning policies in simulation and on hardware.
• Improve efficiency, robustness, scalability, and real-time performance on robot platforms.
• Publish research results and contribute to product development.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams across hardware, controls, software, and product.

Skills

Python

C++

C

Java

Machine learning

Deep learning

Robotics

Education

PhD in Robotics/CS/AI

Tools

ROS/ROS 2

MuJoCo

Isaac Sim/Lab

Drake

PyBullet

PyTorch

Job description

Summary:

At Meta, we're building the future of human connection and the technology that enables it. This means continuously inventing and developing technologies for the next generation of experiences. To continue our efforts in the path to AGI, and as we move closer to a future with intelligent robots and advanced AI models, we're hiring talent across a broad range of disciplines from robotics hardware to system software, machine perception, and artificial intelligence. These crucial projects and initiatives taken on by this team have never been done before, so you have a rare opportunity to help us create new ways people connect around the world. We're seeking a Research Scientist Intern to advance the state of the art in robot learning and embodied intelligence — building systems that perceive, reason, and act in the physical world. These roles require research and problem-solving skills, as well as hands-on experimentation on real robot hardware and in simulation, to design, develop, and evaluate novel policies, architectures, and prototypes. These roles will work in a focused incubation team and collaborate with a large and wide-ranging set of scientists and engineers in the greater organization. Our internships are twelve (12) to twenty-four (24) weeks long and we have various start dates throughout the year.

Required Skills:

Research Scientist Intern, Robotics Responsibilities:

1. Develop novel state-of-the-art algorithms for robot perception, manipulation, navigation, and control, leveraging modern deep learning and foundation-model techniques.
2. Train and evaluate robot learning policies — including imitation learning, reinforcement learning, and vision-language-action models — in simulation and on physical hardware.
3. Based on the project, help analyze and improve the efficiency, robustness, scalability, and real-time performance of algorithms deployed on robot platforms.
4. Perform research to advance the science and technology of intelligent machines.
5. Perform research that enables learning the semantics of multimodal and embodied data (images, video, depth, point clouds, tactile and force signals, proprioception, language, audio).
6. Contribute to data collection, teleoperation, and sim-to-real transfer pipelines that support large-scale robot learning.
7. Collaborate with researchers and cross-functional partners across hardware, controls, software, and product, including communicating research plans, progress, and results.
8. Publish research results and contribute to research that can be applied to Meta product development.

Minimum Qualifications:

1. Currently has, or is in the process of obtaining a Ph.D. degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence, Electrical/Mechanical Engineering, Controls, or a relevant technical field
2. Experience with Python, C++, C, Java or other related language
3. Experience building systems based on machine learning and/or deep learning methods
4. Must obtain work authorization in country of employment at the time of hire and maintain ongoing work authorization during employment

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Proven track record of achieving significant results as demonstrated by grants, fellowships, patents, as well as first-authored publications at leading workshops or conferences such as RSS, CoRL, ICRA, IROS, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, or similar
2. Experience working and communicating cross functionally in a team environment
3. Experience in advancing AI techniques for robotics or computer vision, including core contributions to open source robotics or ML libraries and frameworks (e.g., ROS/ROS 2, MuJoCo, Isaac Sim/Lab, Drake, PyBullet, PyTorch)
4. Experience deploying learned policies or perception systems on real robot hardware — manipulators, mobile robots, humanoids, or dexterous hands
5. Experience with simulation, domain randomization, and sim-to-real transfer
6. Experience with classical robotics foundations: state estimation, SLAM, calibration, motion planning, and optimal or model-predictive control
7. Publications or experience in robot learning, reinforcement learning, machine learning, AI, computer vision, optimization, computer science, statistics, applied mathematics, or data science
8. Experience solving analytical problems using quantitative approaches
9. Experience setting up ML or robot experiments and analyzing their results, including real-world evaluation protocols
10. Experience manipulating and analyzing complex, large scale, high-dimensionality data from varying sources and sensor modalities
11. Experience in utilizing theoretical and empirical research to solve problems
12. Experience with deep learning frameworks
13. Intent to return to degree program after the completion of the internship/co‑op

Public Compensation:

$7,650/month to $12,667/month + benefits

Industry:

Internet

Equal Opportunity:

Meta is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affi- ative Action employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Meta participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law. Please note that Meta may leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies in connection with applications for employment.

Meta is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, please let us know at [e-mail].