Human Interactive Driving Research Intern, Platform Research
At Toyota Research Institute (TRI), we’re on a mission to improve the quality of human life. We’re developing new tools and capabilities to amplify the human experience. To lead this transformative shift in mobility, we’ve built a world-class team in Energy & Materials, Human-Centered AI, Human Interactive Driving, and Robotics.
This is a summer 2025 paid 12-week internship opportunity with the HID team in the Platform Research department at TRI. Please note that this internship will be an in-office role based in Los Altos, CA.
The Team
The Human Interactive Driving Research group is focused on designing the future of advanced safety systems, pushing the envelope of safety, driver experience, and automation. Our team consists of cognitive scientists, computer scientists, software engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, vehicle dynamics experts, designers, and more. We leverage multiple simulation and physical platforms to explore novel interfaces, algorithms, and safety technologies.
The Internship
The HID group is developing next-generation training and assessment tools for performance driving and beyond. We are looking into expanding our driving simulation technology by generating novel driving courses, including layout and other features, based on individual drivers’ skill levels, past performance, and long-horizon strategy development. These tracks may also be used to train autonomous and shared autonomy artificial agents. We are looking for a summer research intern in HQ to work on this effort, with the aim of approaching this as a research challenge for combining generative AI and human-factors research.
The individual will contribute to one or more high-level research focus areas:
- Procedural track generation using generative AI
- Dynamic content creation for CARLA-based driving simulator
- Driver skill assessment
The intern will be expected to work hands-on with a physical simulation system, create working code prototypes, interact frequently with team members, transfer code, design validation experiments, and participate in writing a paper describing the findings and publishing the work.
The ideal individual should be able to distill high-level project goals into an actionable work plan, possess strong skills in generative AI, and have good knowledge of ROS2 and the CARLA driving simulator.
Prior experience in cyber-physical systems, human-subjects research, and data analysis is a plus.
- Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Robotics, Human-Robot Interaction, or related fields
- Experience in generative AI, whether LLMs with non-language tokens or diffusion models
- Game development experience: Unreal, Unity, Godot, etc. and/or simulation development experience: CARLA, Sumo, Gazebo, AirSim, etc.
- Strong software engineering skills (C++/Python preferred) and analysis/debugging robotic systems
- Experience working in a shared codebase with multiple collaborators and reviewing others’ code
- Strong written and oral communication skills
- Experience in working in multi-disciplinary teams. You will be working cross-functionally with UX/UI designers, human-factors researchers, and cognitive scientists.
- Must have a high level of self-initiative to prioritize and manage workload and meet project deadlines in a dynamic environment
- Prior experience in ROS / ROS2
- Previous experience with human subjects or human-centric research
- Prior experience in scientific Python, R, or similar statistical analysis tools
The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $45 and $65/hour for California-based roles; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Note that TRI offers a generous benefits package including vacation and sick time. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.
Please reference this Candidate Privacy Notice to inform you of the categories of personal information that we collect from individuals who inquire about and/or apply to work for Toyota Research Institute, Inc. or its subsidiaries, including Toyota A.I. Ventures GP, L.P., and the purposes for which we use such personal information.
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 applicant’s 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.
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.
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Join Toyota Research Institute (TRI) as a Human Interactive Driving Research Intern and be a part of our mission to improve the quality of human life! Based in our Los Altos, CA office, this summer 2025 paid 12-week internship is your opportunity to dive into exciting research within the innovative HID (Human Interactive Driving) team. At TRI, we're at the forefront of developing tools that enhance safety and the overall driving experience through advanced research in AI, robotics, and human-centered design. As an intern, you'll collaborate with a brilliant team of cognitive scientists, engineers, and designers to design advanced driving simulations tailored to individual skills and training needs. Your role involves developing generative AI techniques for procedural track creation, dynamic content for our CARLA simulator, and assessing driver skills. This hands-on position will see you working closely with cutting-edge technologies and contributing to high-level research that combines technology and human interaction. If you're pursuing a Ph.D. in a related field and have skills in generative AI, CARLA, and software development, we want to hear from you! Join us in shaping the future of mobility and making a real impact in the field of human interactive driving research.
TRI's mission is to improve the quality of human life through advances in artificial intelligence, automated driving, and robotics.
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