About the role#
We are seeking a research intern to join the Human Aware Interaction and Learning (HAIL) team for a 12-week summer internship. This role focuses on the intersection of robot learning and human-robot interaction. You will work on developing general-purpose robots capable of performing dexterous tasks alongside humans in unstructured environments. Your research will contribute to building embodied AI policies using Large Behavior Models, simulation, and human-interactive data.
What you'll do#
- Create working code prototypes and participate in frequent team collaboration.
- Run experiments using both simulated and physical robots.
- Participate in publishing research to peer-reviewed venues.
- Work with existing large static datasets and help maintain a new corpus of robot data.
- Explore areas such as data-efficient learning, hierarchical reasoning for collaboration, uncertainty-aware teaming, and shared autonomy.
What you'll need#
- Currently pursuing a Ph.D. or M.S. in Robotics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
- A publication record at top-tier robotics or machine learning conferences such as RSS, CoRL, ICRA, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, ICCV, or HRI.
- Strong software development skills in Python, with C++ experience being helpful.
- Experience with machine learning, large datasets, models, and benchmarks.
- Experience conducting user studies with real robot hardware.
- Comfort with fast prototyping and running informative experiments.
- Bonus skills include hands-on experience with behavior cloning or reinforcement learning for manipulation, interactive machine learning, and qualitative or quantitative user research.
Location & details#
- Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- Term: Summer 2027.
- Modality: Hybrid.
- This is a full-time, paid internship.
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
Applying early is a significant advantage for internships at Toyota Research Institute, as recruiters often review candidates before the applicant pool grows too large. Intern Insider sends an instant alert the moment a role matching your target is published, helping you get your materials in among the first. This timing often makes the difference in getting your resume noticed. You can also improve your response rates by reaching out to the recruiters behind these roles directly. Intern Insider surfaces the specific contacts responsible for hiring at the company, allowing you to ask relevant questions or request a referral. This direct approach often bypasses the standard queue and puts you in touch with the people who actually make the hiring decisions.



