Human Interactive Driving Research Intern, Perception for Driving at the Limits

Toyota Research Institute•Los Altos, CA

7d•$45 - $65•Hybrid

About The Position

Toyota Research Institute (TRI) is seeking a research intern to develop perception, embodied reasoning, modeling, and/or control methodologies for high-performance driving. The work focuses on novel research that advances vehicle safety and performance, with results validated on hardware. The intern will implement and evaluate algorithms on high-performance vehicles and present findings internally and at international conferences. The role is a paid, 12-week Summer 2027 internship based at TRI headquarters in Los Altos, California. It is hybrid and in-office, and includes experiments with high-performance vehicles on a closed racetrack. The intern will join the Extreme Performance Intelligent Control team, which uses optimization, machine learning, and computer vision to develop approaches for high-performance driving and vehicle maneuvering.

Requirements

Be a Ph.D. candidate working in computer vision, machine learning, robotics, embodied reasoning, or a related field.
Demonstrate proficiency in at least one of the following: Python, C++, ROS(2), PyTorch, or JAX.
Have experience with geometric foundation models, LiDAR/visual inertial odometry stacks, and/or Bayesian filtering methods.
Have experience deploying algorithms on real-world platforms.
Have excellent collaboration and communication skills.
Have a strong interest in advancing vehicle autonomy and embodied AI.

Responsibilities

Develop new perception, modeling, embodied reasoning, and/or control algorithms.
Implement, deploy, and evaluate models and algorithms on high-performance cars.
Present results verbally and in writing internally and at international conferences.