2026 Summer Intern, PhD, Research, Perception Foundation Models

Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the world's most trusted driver. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has focused on building the Waymo Driver—The World's Most Experienced Driver™—to improve access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. The Waymo Driver powers Waymo’s fully autonomous ride-hail service and can also be applied to a range of vehicle platforms and product use cases. The Waymo Driver has provided over ten million rider-only trips, enabled by its experience autonomously driving over 100 million miles on public roads and tens of billions in simulation across 15+ U.S. states.

The mission of the Waymo AI Foundations team is to develop machine learning solutions addressing open problems in autonomous driving, towards the goal of safely operating Waymo vehicles in dozens of cities and under all driving conditions. As part of our work, we also initiate and foster collaborations with other research teams in Alphabet. AI Foundations areas that we are currently focusing on include reinforcement learning, learning from demonstration, generative modeling, Bayesian inference, hierarchical learning, and robust evaluation.

You Will:

• Research, implement, and evaluate self-supervised pretraining methods for large foundational 3D perception models
• Collaborate with research and engineering teams to improve  Waymo's foundational models
• Conduct cutting-edge research and potentially communicate research findings to the wider academic community via technical reports and/or publications

You Have:

• Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline
• Strong publication record in top-tier AI/ML or VL conferences and demonstrated expertise in AI Architecture, Deep Learning, High Performance Computing, Compilers, and/or Computer Architecture
• Hands-on experience with deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX) and ML coding, proficiency in Python and/or C/C++

We Prefer:

• Demonstrated expertise in research domains such as Deep Learning, Self-Supervised Learning
• Experience with large-scale model pre-training, including foundational models, ML modeling and system design and experience in 3D Vision etc
• Proficiency in ML frameworks like Jax, XLA, and/or TPU, and contributions to relevant open-source projects

General Perks:

• Help solve challenging problems with a direct impact on the company
• Competitive compensation packages with a housing/relocation bonus (if applicable)
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Fun intern events and networking opportunities

Onsite Perks:

• Free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks 
• Free access to Google shuttles
• Onsite gym

Note: This will be a hybrid onsite internship position. We will accept resumes on a rolling basis until the role is filled. To be in consideration for multiple roles, you will need to apply to each one individually - please apply to the top 3 roles you are interested in.

At Waymo, we don’t just accept differences - we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products and our community. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

The expected hourly rate for this full-time position is listed below. Interns are also eligible to participate in the Company’s generous benefits programs, subject to eligibility requirements.Hourly PhD Pay$60.10—$60.10 USD