Applied ML/CS PhD Internship (6+ months)

Cartesian Systems • Cambridge, MA

20h • Onsite

About The Position

Cartesian is seeking an Applied ML/CS PhD intern to contribute to core algorithms, delve into a deployed product, and ship changes to enterprise customers. This role is at the intersection of machine learning, perception, estimation, and signal processing, with direct impact on a deployed enterprise product. The intern will gain exposure to the full journey of research in production within a fast-paced, hands-on environment. The internship is product- and impact-driven and is not expected to involve publications due to the IP-sensitive nature of the core models and algorithms.

Requirements

• Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field.
• Research track record of published work in top-tier CS/ML, vision, robotics, or related venues.
• Strong foundations in at least one of: machine learning, perception, sensor fusion, and/or signal processing.
• Demonstrated research output (e.g., strong publications, open-source projects, or impactful applied work).
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work in a small, fast-moving team.
• Curiosity, ownership, and a bias toward action and real-world impact.

Nice To Haves

• Startup or early-stage company experience.
• Experience shipping products (e.g., part of internships).
• Experience or strong interest in spatial AI (3D vision, SLAM, mapping, sensor fusion, geometric deep learning, …) is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Explore new research directions in sensor fusion and spatial AI aligned with product needs.
• Develop and improve algorithms for indoor positioning and spatial perception.
• Run experiments on real-world customer deployments: collect data, analyze failures, propose fixes, and validate improvements.
• Contribute to production ML and signal processing pipelines (modeling, evaluation, deployment).
• Collaborate with engineering and product to ship features to enterprise customers.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree