2026 Summer Intern, PhD, Software Engineer, DUE jobs in United States
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Waymo · 3 months ago

2026 Summer Intern, PhD, Software Engineer, DUE

Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the world's most trusted driver. The internship role involves implementing reinforcement learning algorithms and collaborating with research teams to enhance the performance of the Waymo Driver through systematic experimentation and data analysis.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)AutomotiveAutonomous VehiclesSensorTransportation
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H1B Sponsor Likelynote

Responsibilities

Implemented reinforcement learning algorithms and novel reward functions within a high-fidelity autonomous driving simulator
Design and run experiments to train the driving agent, systematically collecting and analyzing performance data to identify behavioral patterns and potential instances of reward hacking
Interactively refine the driving policy and the reward model based on experiment results, implementing and testing strategies to improve safety and alignment with intended driving behavior
Collaborate with the research team to document experimental setups, present key findings, and contribute to the project's technical direction

Qualification

PythonDeep learning frameworksReinforcement learningMachine learning fundamentalsVersion control with GitData analysisCollaboration

Required

Strong programming proficiency in Python and hands-on experience with deep learning frameworks (e.g, Tensorflow)
Solid theoretical understanding of machine learning and reinforcement learning fundamentals, including Markov Decision Processes value functions, and policy gradients
Practical experience applying modern deep RL algorithms (e.g., PPO, SAC, TD3) to continuous control problems
Familiarity with software development best practices, including version control with Git

Preferred

Knowledge of advanced reward learning paradigms such as Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) or Inverse Reinforcement Learning (IRL)
Experience with large-scale or distributed training of machine learning models

Benefits

Interns are also eligible to participate in the Company’s generous benefits programs, subject to eligibility requirements.

Company

Waymo is a mobility technology company that improves transportation by developing self-driving solutions for travelers and daily commuters. It is a sub-organization of Alphabet.

H1B Sponsorship

Waymo has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (231)
2024 (175)
2023 (268)
2022 (306)
2021 (298)
2020 (317)

Funding

Current Stage
Late Stage
Total Funding
$11.1B
Key Investors
Alphabet
2024-07-23Series C· $5.6B
2021-06-16Series B· $2.5B
2020-05-12Series A· $750M

Leadership Team

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Tekedra Mawakana
Co-Chief Executive Officer
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Elisa de Martel
Chief Financial Officer
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Company data provided by crunchbase