About the role#
This is a 12-week paid internship focused on advancing end-to-end machine learning models for automated driving. You will work within the Automated Driving Advanced Development division to bridge the gap between research and real-world vehicle systems. The role sits at the intersection of machine learning, systems engineering, and deployment, requiring a focus on turning prototypes into robust, testable systems.
What you'll do#
- Conduct research to advance generative modeling for end-to-end planning from vision.
- Implement scalable architectures that process raw sensor data to generate vehicle trajectories.
- Address long-tail driving scenarios where data coverage is limited.
- Prototype, validate, and iterate on model architectures using imitation learning and large-scale data.
- Perform closed-loop evaluations in sensor simulations and real-world testing environments.
- Explore multi-modal and language-conditioned models to improve policy generalization.
What you'll need#
- Currently pursuing a Ph.D. or equivalent in Computer Science, Robotics, Engineering, or a related field.
- Proficiency in Python and experience with ML frameworks like PyTorch.
- Understanding of version control, testing, and software engineering fundamentals.
- Experience with ML engineering workflows, including data curation, model training, and inference optimization.
- Familiarity with foundation models, multimodal Transformer architectures, and large-scale distributed training.
- Experience with robotics, real-world sensor data, or motion planning techniques such as trajectory optimization or model predictive control.
- Understanding of debugging and profiling on the NVIDIA CUDA stack.
- Hands-on experience with ML ops tooling, metrics dashboards, and experiment tracking.
- Experience working with ROS or simulation frameworks like CARLA or Nvidia DriveSim.
Location & details#
- Location: Los Altos, California.
- Term: Summer 2027.
- Modality: Hybrid, in-office.
- Compensation: $45 to $65 per hour.
About Toyota Research Institute
Toyota Research Institute is a research organization founded in 2016. Based in Los Altos, California, it operates as a subsidiary of Toyota. The company focuses on artificial intelligence, robotics, automated driving, and material sciences. Its staff of approximately 485 employees works to develop technology for vehicles and robots while researching new materials for batteries and fuel cells.
How to get in at Toyota Research Institute
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