Future Product Innovation Research Intern, Human-Computer Interaction

Toyota Research Institute•Los Altos, CA

42d•$45 - $65•Hybrid

About The Position

At Toyota Research Institute (TRI), we're on a mission to improve the quality of human life. We're developing new tools and capabilities to amplify the human experience. To lead this transformative shift in mobility, we've built a world-class team in Automated Driving, Energy & Materials, Human-Centered AI, Human Interactive Driving, Large Behavioral Models, and Robotics. This is a Summer 2026 paid 12-week internship opportunity. Please note that this internship will be a hybrid in-office role. The Team This internship opportunity falls within the Human-Centered AI Division (HCAI). We are an integrated team of ML researchers, behavior scientists, and human-computer interaction experts. At the core of our work, we aim to support people to make better decisions by leveraging the best of big data, technology, and insights about why we do what we do. The Future Product Innovation team is an interdisciplinary team of researchers working at the intersection of generative artificial intelligence (AI), design, engineering, and creativity. We leverage advances in cognitive modeling, physiological sensing, HCI, and machine learning to support human decision making. Our mission is to accelerate design and engineering processes in the automotive industry. The Internship We are seeking a highly motivated and talented PhD research intern to join our Future Product Innovation team and push the envelope on what is possible with Generative AI technologies in the domain of automotive product design. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in Human-Computer Interaction, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field, with demonstrated interest in exploring novel interaction techniques at the intersection of design, generative AI, and human-AI interaction. In this project, the intern will develop new steerableAI systems that enable multi-agent conversation and decision-making support designed to produce actionable engineering and design insights for physical product development. We will match the intern with mentors based on their experience. Over the course of the project, in addition to Future Product Innovation group meetings, the intern will also participate in all Human-Centered AI division meetings. The intern will be exposed to how interdisciplinary industrial research works and learn from our team as well as the other interns in our division. Furthermore, the intern will engage in strategy discussions about how their research connects to business impact at Toyota.

Requirements

Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Human-Computer Interaction, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field.
Demonstrated interest in exploring novel techniques at the intersection of Design, Generative AI, and Human-AI interaction.
Experience prototyping interactive generative AI systems that leverage open-source LLMsExperience designing and conducting user studies, analyzing data, and presenting research findings.
Track record of executing research projects including publications at top HCI conferences such as CHI, UIST, etc.
Desire to work on challenging open-ended research projects.
Demonstrated ability to work autonomously while soliciting feedback.
Excellent communication and teamwork skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience with modern front-end development frameworks (e.g., React).
Experience with modern LLM frameworks (e.g., LangChain, RAG).
Prior experience developing multi-agent conversational systems, AI collaboration tools, or debate-based interfaces.
Experience adapting pre-trained models to specific tasks or domains through fine-tuning or similar techniques.

Benefits

TRI offers a generous benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, and paid time off benefits (including holiday pay and sick time).

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