Research Scientist Intern - Robot Learning & Manipulation

FieldAI’s Irvine team is where embodied AI meets real robots, real sensors, and real field deployments. Based in the heart of Southern California’s robotics ecosystem, we build risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems that solve the hardest problems in robotics and unlock the full potential of embodied intelligence. If you want your work to ship, get tested on hardware, and improve through real deployments, Irvine is the place. We go beyond typical data-driven approaches or pure transformer-only architectures, combining rigorous engineering with learning systems proven in globally deployed solutions that deliver results today and get better every time our robots run in the field.

About the internship

We are offering Spring, Summer, and Fall 2027 research internships in the Irvine office for Master’s and PhD students advancing robotic manipulation.

You will investigate how robots can perform useful physical tasks reliably across diverse objects, environments, and robot platforms. Working closely with researchers and engineers, you will own a focused research project and help translate promising ideas into capabilities that can be tested on hardware and improved through real deployment experience.

Research directions and methods will be shaped by your expertise and the problems we encounter in the field. The goal is to produce original research with measurable impact on what our robots can accomplish.

What We Offer

Real deployment problems: Work on manipulation challenges grounded in customer use cases and operational needs, with opportunities to evaluate beyond controlled laboratory settings.

Physical robots and hardware: Develop and validate your work on robotic systems, including humanoids, mobile manipulators, and arm-equipped quadrupeds.

Research ownership: Shape a focused project, propose your approach, and carry it through implementation, experimentation, and hardware validation.

Deployment feedback: Use observations and failure cases from real operation to guide research and improve reliability.

Close technical collaboration: Work with researchers and engineers across robot learning, perception, control, hardware, and deployment.

Research contributions: Pursue work suitable for leading conferences and journals, with opportunities to release code, datasets, or other research artifacts.

What You Will Get To Do

Develop manipulation capabilities that address meaningful physical tasks in real environments.

Investigate how skills transfer across objects, tasks, environments, and robot platforms.

Address practical challenges such as uncertainty, contact, changing conditions, and failure recovery.

Design experiments that measure task success, generalization, and reliability under realistic operating conditions.

Integrate and validate research on physical robots, collaborating with engineering teams to address system constraints.

Document findings, present results, and contribute to publications or reusable research tools.

What You Have

Current master’s or PhD enrollment in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, AI/ML, or a closely related field.

Research experience in robotic manipulation, robot learning, embodied AI, or a related area.

A strong research or open-source track record, demonstrated through substantive publications, research software, or technically rigorous projects.

Clear ownership of original research or technical development, including implementation and evaluation.

Strong foundations in robotics, machine learning, and experimental design.

Proficiency in Python and/or C++.

Ability to work independently, communicate findings clearly, and collaborate across research and engineering disciplines.

The Extras That Set You Apart

First-author publications at venues such as RSS, CoRL, ICRA, IROS, NeurIPS, ICLR, or ICML, or journals such as RA-L, T-RO, or IJRR.

Significant contributions to open-source robotics or machine learning projects with demonstrated adoption.

Hands-on experience taking research from an initial idea to reliable operation on physical robots.

Experience evaluating robotic systems outside controlled laboratory conditions.

Public research code, datasets, or robot demonstrations showing technical depth and measurable results.

Experience with robot integration, sensing, control, or data collection infrastructure.

Our salary range is generous and we consider each individual’s background and experience when determining final compensation. Base pay may vary based on role scope, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and the Irvine, California market.

Why Join FieldAI in Irvine?

In Irvine, you will work where the robots are. Our local team builds and tests systems on real hardware with real sensors, then ships them to operate in unstructured, previously unknown environments around the world. We are solving one of robotics’ hardest challenges: reliable deployment outside the lab. Our Field Foundational Models™ raise the bar for perception, planning, localization, and manipulation, with an emphasis on explainability and safety for real-world use.

You will collaborate with a world-class team that thrives on creativity, resilience, and bold thinking. We bring deep experience from organizations such as DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla Autopilot, Cruise, Zoox, Toyota Research Institute, and SpaceX, along with a track record of field deployments and strong performance in DARPA challenge segments.

Be Part of the Next Robotics Revolution

We are looking for builders who want their work to leave the whiteboard and show up on robots. If you enjoy tackling tough, uncharted questions and working across disciplines, you will find your people here. Our teams span AI, software, robotics engineering, product, field deployment, and technical communication, all focused on shipping systems that perform in the real world.

Our headquarters is in Irvine, and we partner closely with teams there as well as colleagues across the US and around the world. Join us in Southern California and help define what dependable, field-ready autonomy looks like.

We value diverse perspectives and are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. We evaluate candidates and employees based on merit, qualifications, and performance, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally protected status.