2026 Summer Intern –PhD – Foundations: Localization

Motional • Pittsburgh, PA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Foundations Team is the backbone of our autonomous driving stack, ensuring our vehicles know where they are, can be supported remotely when needed, and have the most accurate environmental data. We are looking for highly motivated interns to join three distinct sub-teams.
Localization (PhD, Remote)
Focus: Visual-Inertial Odometry (VIO) & Multi-Sensor Fusion
The goal is to move beyond expensive long-range LiDAR by using Vision and IMU as primary sensors. You will help build the next generation of robust, cost-effective localization.
Motional is a driverless technology company making autonomous vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality. We’re driven by something more.
Our journey is always people first.
We aren't just developing driverless cars; we're creating safer roadways, more equitable transportation options, and making our communities better places to live, work, and connect. Our team is made up of engineers, researchers, innovators, dreamers and doers, who are creating a technology with the potential to transform the way we move.
Higher purpose, greater impact.
We’re creating first-of-its-kind technology that will transform transportation. To do so successfully, we must design for everyone in our cities and on our roads. We believe in building a great place to work through a progressive, global culture that is diverse, inclusive, and ensures people feel valued at every level of the organization. Diversity helps us to see the world differently; it’s not only good for our business, it’s the right thing to do.
Scale up, not starting up.
Our team is behind some of the industry's largest leaps forward, including the first fully-autonomous cross-country drive in the U.S, the launch of the world's first robotaxi pilot, and operation of the world's longest-standing public robotaxi fleet. We’re driven to scale; we’re moving towards commercialization of our technology, and we need team members who are ready to embrace change and challenges.
Formed as a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, Motional is fundamentally changing how people move through their lives. Headquartered in Boston, Motional has operations in the U.S and Asia. For more information, visit www.Motional.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
Motional AD Inc. is an EOE. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. To comply with Federal Law, we participate in E-Verify. All newly-hired employees are queried through this electronic system established by the DHS and the SSA to verify their identity and employment eligibility.

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Vision, Robotics, or related fields.
• Deep expertise in SLAM, VIO, and geometric vision.
• Proficiency in C++ and/or Python.
• A self-starter attitude with the ability to tackle ambiguous technical challenges.
• Strong communication skills to work with cross-functional teams in different time zones (US/Singapore).
• Familiarity with modern software development best practices.

Responsibilities

• Develop methods for offline visual-inertial mapping and online visual-inertial localization.
• Fuse localization results in existing infrastructure to improve robustness in LiDAR-integrated pipelines.
• Research the use of semantic-level features for matching to replace or augment low-level image features (ORB/learned matchers).

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree