2026 Summer Intern, PhD, World Modeling

The mission of the Waymo AI Foundations team is to develop machine learning solutions addressing open problems in autonomous driving, towards the goal of safely operating Waymo vehicles in dozens of cities and under all driving conditions. As part of our work, we also initiate and foster collaborations with other research teams in Alphabet. AI Foundations areas that we are currently focusing on include reinforcement learning, learning from demonstration, generative modeling, Bayesian inference, hierarchical learning, and robust evaluation.

You will:

• Solve research problems in world modeling and reasoning in autonomous driving systems.
• Prototype and iterate research ideas.
• Present research findings to a wide audience within Waymo, with the goal of publishing results to the research community.

You have:

• Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science, Robotics, or a similar technical field of study.
• Research experience in computer vision and machine learning.
• Strong programming skills in Python.

We prefer:

• First-authored publications from top-tier Computer Vision, graphics, or robotics conferences.
• Research experience in generative models or large language models.
• Hands-on experience with deep neural networks and familiarity with at least one type of deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch, Jax, Tensorflow, etc.

General Perks:

• Help solve challenging problems with a direct impact on the company
• Competitive compensation packages with a housing/relocation bonus (if applicable)
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Fun intern events and networking opportunities

Onsite Perks:

• Free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks
• Free access to Google shuttles
• Onsite gym

Note: This will be a hybrid onsite internship position. We will accept resumes on a rolling basis until the role is filled. To be in consideration for multiple roles, you will need to apply to each one individually - please apply to the top 3 roles you are interested in.

At Waymo, we don’t just accept differences - we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products and our community. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.