PhD Research Intern, Autonomous Systems and Physical AI Research - 2027 - CA, Santa Clara, United States
$38 - $94 USD yearly
Originally posted 13 September 2026 by the employer — open 6 days.
About the role
This role involves foundational research in autonomous vehicles, robotics, and physical AI, particularly within the Autonomous Systems and Physical AI Research (ASPIRE) group.
What you'll do
- Design and implement techniques for autonomous vehicles, robotics, and physical AI.
- Conduct original research and publish results.
- Collaborate with research colleagues, internal product teams, and external researchers.
- Transfer developed technology to product groups.
What you'll need
- Currently pursuing a PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
- Relevant research experience in autonomous vehicles, robotics, embodied AI, or autonomous systems.
- Track record of research excellence demonstrated through publications at conferences and journals (e.g., RSS, ICRA, CoRL, IJRR, NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR, TAC) and open-source software.
- Exceptional Python programming skills.
- Experience with machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
Nice to have
- Experience with C++ and parallel programming, such as CUDA.
Skills: Autonomous Systems, Physical AI, Robotics, Embodied AI, deep learning, reinforcement learning
This role has been open 5 days — well below the 65-day median for AI/ML Hardware Engineering roles.
AI/ML Hardware Engineering · AI ML Hardware
|
Open roles in category
518
|
Median days open
65 d
|
Median salary
$229k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | NVIDIA | All employers we track in this specialty (518 roles · 76 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 85 | 518 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 943 | 5796 · 143 employers |
| Median days open | 65 d | 65 d (same as this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $229k |
Skills observed across this category: Autonomous Systems, Physical AI, Robotics, Embodied AI, deep learning, reinforcement learning
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm · 106 open roles · median 97 d
- NVIDIA (this employer) · 85 open roles · median 65 d
- AMD · 43 open roles · median 60 d
- Micron Technology · 32 open roles · median 37 d
- Mobileye · 25 open roles · median 51 d
- Analog Devices · 14 open roles · median 22 d
How we counted: 518 open AI/ML Hardware Engineering (AI ML Hardware) roles from 76 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 19 Sept 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.