Software Engineer Intern, Autonomy Software [Summer 2027]

Zoox; Foster City (CA); On-site; USD 73,000 - 117,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Relocation stipend

Job summary

Zoox is offering a 12‑week internship in the Bay Area for graduate students pursuing an MS or PhD in CS, robotics, or EE. Interns join Autonomy Software teams and work with a mentor on open research questions that feed into Zoox vehicles and simulations.

You'll design and implement state‑of‑the‑art algorithms in C++ and Python, train models on driving data, and present results at a project showcase, with potential relocation support and benefits.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a MS or PhD in computer science, robotics, electrical engineering, or a related engineering program.
• Expected to graduate between Fall 2027 and Summer 2028, and enrolled at an accredited college or university throughout the internship.
• Able to commit to a full‑time, 12‑week internship beginning in May/June 2027.
• Ability to relocate to the Bay Area, California, for the duration of the internship.
• Interns at Zoox may not use any proprietary information they are working on as part of their thesis, any published work with their university, or to be distributed to anyone outside of Zoox.

Responsibilities

• Work on interesting research or advanced engineering problems that could have the potential to revolutionize the existing Autonomy Software stack.
• Design, build and evaluate state‑of‑the‑art algorithms or machine learning models for a real autonomous driving system.
• Train and test models on large‑scale driving and simulation data, and analyze failure modes to measure improvements.
• Write production‑quality C++ and Python that goes through code review.
• Present your results to your team and at the end‑of‑summer project showcase, and contribute to publishable research where the project allows.

Skills

C++

Python

Machine Learning

Computer Vision

Motion Planning

Education

MS or PhD in CS/Robotics/EE

Tools

PyTorch

Jax

TensorFlow

NumPy

Job description

About Our Internship Program

Zoox's internship program offers hands‑on experience with cutting‑edge technology, mentorship from some of the industry's brightest minds, and the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to real projects. We seek interns who demonstrate strong academic performance, engagement beyond the classroom, intellectual curiosity, and a genuine interest in Zoox's mission.

Job Description

Autonomy Software builds the software that lets the Zoox robotaxi perceive its surroundings, predict what others will do, and plan and control the vehicle with no one behind the wheel. Interns join one of the teams below, work with a mentor on an open research or engineering question, and see a direct path from their work to the system that runs on Zoox vehicles and in simulation.

Interns in this pipeline may be considered for opportunities across a range of teams, including:

• Autonomy Behaviors: Owns the decision‑making, planning & control modules, which decide how the vehicle drives. Projects include machine‑learned planning, long‑horizon reasoning, configurable driving styles, freeway driving and new vehicle platform bring‑up.


• Perception: Gives the vehicle an understanding of its surroundings using camera, lidar, radar and audio. Projects include object detection and tracking, multimodal foundation models, scene understanding, occupancy and 3D mapping.


• Guidance & Routing: Works on route‑level planning and offline mapping, including the mission planner, map data delivery and road network tools.


• Collision Avoidance System: Runs an independent safety layer with its own perception and planning. This team also works on the evaluation and data tooling for verification.

In this Role, You Will...

• Work on interesting research or advanced engineering problems that could have the potential to revolutionize the existing Autonomy Software stack.


• Design, build and evaluate state‑of‑the‑art algorithms or machine learning models for a real autonomous driving system.


• Train and test models on large‑scale driving and simulation data, and analyze failure modes to measure improvements.


• Write production‑quality C++ and Python that goes through code review.


• Present your results to your team and at the end‑of‑summer project showcase, and contribute to publishable research where the project allows.

Requirements

• Currently working towards a M.S. or Ph.D. in computer science, robotics, electrical engineering, or a related engineering program


• Expected to graduate between Fall 2027 and Summer 2028, and enrolled at an accredited college or university throughout the internship


• Able to commit to a full‑time, 12‑week internship beginning in May/June 2027


• Ability to relocate to the Bay Area, California, for the duration of the internship


• Interns at Zoox may not use any proprietary information they are working on as part of their thesis, any published work with their university, or to be distributed to anyone outside of Zoox

Qualifications

• Currently working towards a M.S. or Ph.D. in computer science, robotics, electrical engineering, or a related engineering program


• Strong programming skills in C++ and/or Python


• Solid computer science fundamentals, including data structures and algorithms


• Experience with PyTorch, Jax, Tensorflow, Numpy


• Experience in at least one of machine learning, computer vision, motion planning, controls, prediction or mapping


• Clear communication of technical results

Bonus Qualifications

• Publications in top ML or robotics conferences (e.g. NeurIPS, CVPR, ICRA)


• Experience with autonomous driving or learned robotic planning


• Experience with large‑scale, multi‑node training workloads

Compensation

The monthly salary range for this position is $6,500 to $10,500. Compensation will vary based on geographic location and level of education. Additional benefits may include medical insurance and a relocation stipend.

About Zoox

Zoox is developing the first ground‑up, fully autonomous vehicle fleet and the supporting ecosystem required to bring this technology to market. Sitting at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and design, Zoox aims to provide the next generation of mobility‑as‑a‑service in urban environments. We’re looking for top talent that shares our passion and wants to be part of a fast‑moving and highly execution‑oriented team.

Follow us on LinkedIn

Accommodations

If you need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process please reach out to [e-mail] or your assigned recruiter.

A Final Note:

You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Zoox, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.