Human Interactive Driving Intern – Safe Shared Control

Los Altos, CA - USA

Hourly Salary: $ 45 - 65

Posted on: 02-11-2025

Vacancies: 1 Vacancy

Job Summary

At Toyota Research Institute (TRI) were on a mission to improve the quality of human life. Were developing new tools and capabilities to amplify the human experience. To lead this transformative shift in mobility weve built a world-class team in Automated Driving Energy & Materials Human-Centered AI Human Interactive Driving Large Behavior Models and Robotics.

This is a Summer 2026 paid 12-week internship opportunity. Please note that this internship will be a hybrid in-office role.

The Team

Within the Extreme Performance Intelligent Control team we are developing techniques to advance vehicle safety and performance capabilities using tools from machine learning optimization and control theory. We are pursuing a cooperative approach to high-performance driving by developing predictive models and control frameworks for extreme vehicle maneuvering that match or exceed the skills of expert drivers. We envision a world where these tools allow each vehicle to support its driver creating a safe and enjoyable experience for all.

The Internship

We are seeking a motivated intern to join our shared control driving team focusing on cutting-edge research to ensure safe and effective human-AI collaboration for the next generation of advanced driver assistance systems. Potential research areas include developing novel planning and control algorithms to guarantee safety amid challenging driving scenarios improving performance of existing shared control algorithms under uncertain conditions and implementing data-driven/ML approaches to shared control with safety guarantees.

This role provides an exciting opportunity to explore approaches to human-AI pairing that support safe intuitive and responsive shared driving systems. Along the way you will apply your knowledge to tackle novel research questions and work towards a publication with professional researchers. The internship will be in our headquarters and includes competitive compensation befitting the challenging but fun nature of the research work at TRI. Applicants with relevant publications in the fields above and good collaboration skills are highly encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

Work with researchers to develop and then undertake a well-scoped research project in a relevant area.
Extend existing controls/AI/ML algorithms or design new algorithms for shared control with a human driver at a vehicles performance limits.
Explore approaches to formalize guarantees of safety for shared control algorithms.
Implement algorithms on a full-scale vehicle research platform.
Publish your original research at a high-impact conference.

Qualifications

Ph.D. or M.S. student in relevant fields - ML/AI robotics computer science mechanical engineering aerospace engineering or similar.
Proficient in scientific Python robotic frameworks (e.g. ROS2.0). Proficiency in machine learning frameworks (e.g. PyTorch) are a plus.
Knowledge of nonlinear system control optimization and machine learning. Vehicle dynamics knowledge is a plus.
Experience working on joint scientific and engineering projects.
Familiarity with or interest in racing or high-performance driving is a plus.

Please add a link to Google Scholar to include a full list of publications when submitting your CV for this position.

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $45 and $65/hour for California-based roles. Base pay offered will depend on multiple individualized factors including but not limited to business or organizational needs market location job-related knowledge skills and experience. TRI offers a generous benefits package including medical dental and vision insurance and paid time off benefits (including holiday pay and sick time). Additional details regarding these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

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TRI is fueled by a diverse and inclusive community of people with unique backgrounds education and life experiences. We are dedicated to fostering an innovative and collaborative environment by living the values that are an essential part of our culture. We believe diversity makes us stronger and are proud to provide Equal Employment Opportunity for all without regard to an applicants race color creed gender gender identity or expression sexual orientation national origin age physical or mental disability medical condition religion marital status genetic information veteran status or any other status protected under federal state or local laws.

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Required Experience:

Intern