About the role#
As a Ph.D. Research Intern, you will join a multidisciplinary team focused on developing a world foundation model for driving. This role involves creating a unified representation of driving knowledge using large-scale real-world and simulated data. You will work alongside full-time researchers to tackle challenges in multi-agent interaction, causal reasoning, and embodied intelligence.
What you'll do#
- Conduct original research in world modeling, multi-agent interaction, reinforcement learning, perception, or simulation-to-reality transfer.
- Collaborate with researchers on the design, training, and evaluation of learning-based driving systems.
- Build and experiment with task-aware, multi-modal, and uncertainty-aware models.
- Develop and evaluate prototypes in closed-loop simulation environments.
- Present research findings through internal talks and work toward academic publication.
What you'll need#
- Current enrollment in a Ph.D. program in Computer Science, Robotics, Machine Learning, or a related field.
- Strong background in machine learning, including deep learning, generative models, reinforcement learning, or probabilistic modeling.
- Demonstrated experience with world models, model-based RL, 3D perception, or large-scale simulation for robotics.
- Prior publication in top-tier conferences such as NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, CVPR, ICRA, or CoRL.
- Proficiency with Python and PyTorch.
Location & details#
- Location: Los Altos, California.
- Term: Fall 2026.
- Modality: Hybrid (in-office).
- Employment type: Full-time internship.
- Compensation: This is a paid position.
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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