PhD Research Intern, Generative AI for Physical AI - 2027 - CA, Santa Clara, United States
$38 - $94 USD yearly
Originally posted 15 September 2026 by the employer — open 4 days.
About the role
This PhD Research Intern role focuses on advancing Generative AI for Physical AI, specifically for world models and generative AI systems across robotics, autonomous driving, smart spaces, and embodied agents.
What you'll do
- Conduct research in generative AI, multimodal foundation models, world models, and embodied AI.
- Develop algorithms for video understanding/generation, action-conditioned simulation, multimodal reasoning, and policy learning.
- Train and evaluate large-scale models using video, image, language, and robotics or autonomous driving data.
- Collaborate with researchers and engineers across AI, robotics, simulation, and graphics teams.
- Publish research at top conferences and transfer innovations into NVIDIA products.
What you'll need
- Currently pursuing a PhD in CS, EE, Robotics, or related fields.
- Strong background in generative AI, computer vision, multimodal learning, robotics, or reinforcement learning.
- Prior publication record and research experience.
- Strong Python and PyTorch skills.
Skills: Generative AI, Physical AI, world models, robotics, autonomous driving
This role has been open 3 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: Generative AI, Physical AI, world models, robotics, autonomous driving
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.