2027 Summer Intern, PhD, Research Scientist Intern

Waymo•Mountain View, CA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Waymo is hiring a PhD summer intern for its Critic Frontier / Applied Research Team. The intern will work on research to develop a foundation critic model, using foundation models available at Alphabet and relevant research literature. The role focuses on addressing research challenges such as shortcut learning and sensitivity to inputs, instilling appropriate “thinking” modes in models, and prototyping an auto-researcher or RSI loop. The intern may own a medium-to-large-scale end-to-end research project to develop Waymo’s next-generation critic model. This is a hybrid onsite summer internship. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. The expected hourly rate is $85. Interns may participate in the company’s benefits programs, subject to eligibility requirements.

Requirements

Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
Foundational machine learning knowledge from before the LLM era.
Expert knowledge of LLMs, VLMs, and VLAs.
Strong software development experience in Python and debugging capability.

Nice To Haves

Strong knowledge in reinforcement learning.
Understanding of how modern “thinking” mode works.

Responsibilities

Use foundation models available at Alphabet and research literature to build a foundation critic model.
Address research problems such as shortcut learning and instilling appropriate “thinking” modes into models.
Prototype an auto-researcher / RSI loop.
Prototype research solutions to current system bottlenecks, including shortcut learning and sensitivity to inputs.
Ideally own a medium-to-large-scale end-to-end research project to develop Waymo’s next-generation critic model.