Job Title: Machine Learning Internship, Manipulation
Department: Robotics Software Engineering
Employment Type: Internship, Fall 2026 (August - December) or Spring 2027 (January - May)
FLSA: Exempt
Location: Houston, TX – Onsite
Who We ArePersona AI is developing and commercializing rugged, multi-purpose humanoid robots that perform real work. Persona AI’s founding team has a decades-long history in humanoid robotics, bionics, and product development delivering robust hardware that has touched the stars, worked miles below the surface of the ocean, and even roamed Disney Parks. Our mission is focused squarely on shipping beautiful, reliable products at massive scale, while building a customer-focused team to achieve these aims.
About the RoleWe're looking for a Machine Learning Intern (Manipulation) to help build Persona's machine learning models and infrastructure. We are primarily interested in candidates with experience and relevant projects in robot learning, but can be flexible depending on aptitude and energy.
As a Machine Learning Intern at Persona, you will have an incredible opportunity to work with humanoid robots and solve practical problems in the real world.
What You'll DoWork with the ML team to develop and improve machine learning models and the infrastructure.
Monitor and evaluate the performance of models in the real world.
Collaborate on the design and development of the Persona ML software stack and support its application in manipulation, navigation, locomotion, and perception.
Courage and grit to tackle some of the hardest problems in embodied AI.
Enthusiasm for working collaboratively in a high paced team environment.
Experience with deep learning frameworks (Pytorch, JAX, TensorFlow, etc.)
Experience with cloud computing to develop models, manage data, etc. (AWS, Azure, GCP)
Strong understanding of the state of the art research in robot learning (behavior cloning and reinforcement learning for manipulation, world models, etc.).
Understanding of the challenges of deploying neural network models in the real world.
Capable of writing high-quality software.
Thrive in fast-paced and ambiguous environments.
Strong first principles thinker.
An advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in computer science, robotics, machine learning, or another related field.
Published papers at top ML/Robotics conferences (ICML, ICRA, CoRL, RSS, NeurIPS).
Persona AI is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
Skills Required
- Experience and relevant projects in robot learning
- Experience with deep learning frameworks (PyTorch, JAX, TensorFlow)
- Experience with cloud computing (AWS, Azure, GCP)
- Strong understanding of state-of-the-art research in robot learning (behavior cloning, reinforcement learning, world models)
- Understanding of challenges deploying neural network models in the real world
- Capable of writing high-quality software
- Enthusiasm for collaborative, high-paced team environments
- Courage and grit to tackle hard problems in embodied AI
- Thrive in fast-paced and ambiguous environments
- Strong first-principles thinker
- Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in CS, robotics, ML or related field
- Published papers at top ML/Robotics conferences (ICML, ICRA, CoRL, RSS, NeurIPS)
What We Do
We're hiring talented engineers who can’t wait to put tough humanoids to work. Visit our website to see open positions and apply.
