Hiring: Machine Learning Research Scientist, Mechanical Intuition in Multimodal Models Company: Toyota Research Institute Location: Cambridge, MA Job Posted Time: 2026-09-16 10:29:45 Employment Type: Internship Target Skills & Keywords : AI, Assembly, CAD, LLM, Machine Learning, Python, Reinforcement Learning About the job Required Skills: •Design and implement end-to-end modeling pipelines for machine assembly tasks, building from the ground up rather than adapting existing frameworks •Run systematic experiments to evaluate architectural variants, data collection and curation strategies, and a range of supervised and reinforcement learning techniques for physical manipulation •Develop and maintain rigorous evaluation protocols to measure policy performance across assembly scenarios, including generalization to novel parts, configurations, and failure modes •Explore how modern LLMs and agentic systems can be integrated to support physical reasoning and task planning in assembly contexts •Partner cross-functionally with researchers and engineers across TRI and Toyota's broader ecosystem to connect learning-based systems with real hardware and manufacturing workflows •Contribute to writing and publishing research results in peer-reviewed venues Qualifications: •A PhD in a relevant field such as Computer Science, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline, completed recently (or nearing completion), with some post-PhD or internship work experience •A demonstrated track record of implementing non-trivial learning systems — not just running baselines, but building pipelines and components from scratch •Applied hands-on capability in policy learning, reinforcement learning, or robot learning, with strong intuitions about what makes these approaches succeed or fail in practice •Proficiency in Python and comfort working across the full stack of a research project, from data processing to model training to evaluation •Genuine interest in how physical products are designed and manufactured •Operational familiarity with large language models, vision-language models, or agentic AI frameworks, particularly in contexts involving structured reasoning or tool use •Exposure to manufacturing processes, assembly planning, or CAD/CAM toolchains •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. Compensation: •Flexible work environment (work from home / hybrid options) Interested candidates, please apply directly through the job posting on company's career page or try via AI auto apply on this platform. Don't miss this opportunity to join a forward-thinking team!