2027 Summer Intern, PhD, Machine Learning, Computer Vision
About this role
Software Engineering builds the core intelligence for Waymo's fully autonomous driving technology, allowing vehicles to perceive surroundings, make safe driving decisions, and transport passengers. Team members tackle complex problems in perception, robotics, and deep learning alongside hardware and systems engineers.
This PhD internship focuses on analyzing internal feature representations of deep multimodal perception foundation models, validating model performance on large-scale autonomous datasets, and training neural networks. The ideal candidate is currently pursuing a relevant doctoral degree, possesses practical Python programming skills, and brings hands-on experience with deep learning models for computer vision.
What you will do
- Analyze and characterize internal feature representations of deep multimodal perception foundation models.
- Validate model performance using large-scale autonomous vehicle sensor datasets and simulation environments.
- Train, fine-tune, and evaluate deep neural networks to improve overall model performance.
- Inspect perception foundation models to derive actionable signals regarding data quality.
- Implement or augment data pipelines to enhance existing data quality.
What you need
- Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
- Demonstrated experience programming in Python.
- Practical experience training, fine-tuning, and evaluating deep learning models for computer vision or multimodal perception.
- Solid understanding of modern neural architectures such as Vision Transformers and multimodal sensor encoders.
Nice to have
- Research experience or publications in multimodal deep learning models or vision foundational models.
- Hands-on experience working with multi-camera and/or 3D LiDAR perception systems in robotics or autonomous driving.
- Experience evaluating large-scale perception systems under practical settings.
Benefits
- Generous benefits programs, subject to eligibility requirements
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the work location policy for this internship?
This will be a hybrid onsite internship position based in Mountain View, California.
What is the compensation for this role?
The expected hourly rate for this full-time PhD position is $85 USD, and interns are also eligible to participate in the company's benefits programs.
How does the application and review process work?
Resumes are accepted on a rolling basis until the role is filled. Candidates who wish to be considered for multiple roles must apply to each position individually, up to their top three choices.