Machine Learning Intern, Manipulation
TLDR
Develop robot-learning models and ML infrastructure for humanoid robots across manipulation, navigation, locomotion, and perception.
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 Are
Persona 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 Role
We'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 Do
Work 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.
What We're Looking For
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.
Preferred or Bonus Qualifications
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.
Persona AI is developing rugged, multi-purpose humanoid robots designed to perform labor-intensive tasks in challenging industrial environments, such as shipyards and steel mills. Targeting sectors facing workforce shortages, the company leverages its deep expertise in humanoid robotics to create reliable products that enhance operational efficiency and safety. With strong partnerships across global industrial leaders, Persona AI is poised to make a significant impact in the world of automation.