PhD Research Intern - Winter/Summer 2026

Fundamental Research Labs • Menlo Park, CA

90d

About The Position

We’re looking for smart, motivated, and curious PhD students to join us next summer or earlier as Research Scientist Interns. This is a unique opportunity to explore new research directions in AI, reinforcement learning, and multi-agent systems while working alongside a small, elite team of researchers and engineers. You will not be constrained to our current product goals, but rather, you will be given the resources needed to accomplish your best work. You will be encouraged to publish your work with us in conferences/journals.

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science (AI/ML, NLP, Robotics, etc.), or computational fields in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, etc.
• Demonstrated ability to design, implement, and evaluate experiments
• Strong publication record or evidence of impactful research contributions
• Startup-oriented mindset: excited by ambiguity, rapid iteration, and big ideas

Nice To Haves

• Publications at top conferences (ICML, ICLR, Neurips, UAI, RSS, CoRL, JMLR, TMLR etc)
• Experience with large-scale distributed training or inference engines (e.g., DeepSpeed, vLLM, FSDP)
• Contributions to open-source projects in AI/ML or systems research
• Cross-disciplinary interests (e.g., neuroscience, human-computer interaction, generative media)

Benefits

• Generous compensation
• Minimum 40 hours a week, onsite in Menlo Park (start and end date flexible)
• Startup hours apply

What This Job Offers

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