About the role#
As a Data Scientist Intern on the Quantitative Risk Assessment team, you will apply statistical and machine learning methods to quantify safety and risk for our autonomous driving systems. You will work with fleet and simulation data to model rare safety events, create statistical baselines, and develop metrics that validate our robotaxi performance.
What you'll do#
- Build statistical and machine learning models to evaluate system performance and analyze rare, high-consequence safety events.
- Process and analyze large-scale datasets using SQL, Python, or distributed frameworks to extract insights on vehicle behavior and operational risk.
- Apply advanced statistical methods, such as Poisson processes, GLMs, Bayesian inference, and spatial-temporal modeling, to evaluate safety-critical metrics.
- Collaborate with systems engineers and safety leads to translate quantitative models into mission assurance decisions.
What you'll need#
- Currently pursuing a Master's or Ph.D. in Statistics, Data Science, Machine Learning, Computer Science, or a related quantitative engineering or scientific discipline.
- Expected to graduate between Fall 2027 and Summer 2028.
- Deep understanding of probability theory, regression, GLMs, hypothesis testing, and Bayesian methods.
- Experience or coursework in spatial statistics, space-time models, point process models, or causal inference.
- Fundamentals in statistical modeling and machine learning, including supervised and unsupervised learning, model validation, and metric evaluation.
- Proficiency with SQL and Python for data querying, cleaning, and modeling.
- Ability to break down ambiguous system questions into structured statistical problems and communicate findings to technical stakeholders.
- Familiarity with autonomous vehicles, quantitative safety modeling, or rare-event detection is a plus.
- Experience with Spark, Databricks, or cloud platforms for processing massive datasets is an asset.
- Experience utilizing AI-assisted data analysis or LLM-driven research workflows is beneficial.
Location & details#
- This is a full-time, 12-week internship beginning in May or June 2027.
- The role is based in Foster City, California, and requires relocation to the Bay Area.
- The work modality is hybrid.
- You must be enrolled in good academic standing at an accredited university throughout the internship.
- Proprietary information from this role cannot be used in a thesis, published university work, or distributed outside of Zoox.
About Zoox
Zoox develops autonomous, purpose-built vehicles for mobility-as-a-service. The company focuses on robotics, artificial intelligence, and electric vehicle technology. Founded in 2014, it maintains its headquarters in Foster City, California. The organization employs nearly 4,800 people.
How to get in at Zoox
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