PhD Research Intern, Generalist Embodied Agents Research - Fall 2025

Details

NVIDIA is searching for an outstanding research intern to build humanoid robot foundation models and systems in the Generalist Embodied Agent Research (GEAR) group. Everything that moves will eventually be autonomous. The mission of the group is to build general-purpose embodied agents that learn to explore and master complex skills across the virtual and the physical world.

You will work with a collaborative research team that produces work on multimodal foundation models, large-scale robot learning, game AI, and physical simulation. Past projects from the team include Eureka, VIMA, Voyager, MineDojo, MimicPlay, Prismer, and Project GR00T (a foundation model for humanoid robots). Your contributions will impact moonshot research projects and product roadmaps.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement novel AI algorithms and models for general-purpose humanoid robots and embodied agents.
• Develop large-scale AI training and inference methods for foundation models.
• Optimize and deploy AI models in physical simulation and on robot hardware.
• Collaborate with research and engineering teams across NVIDIA to transfer research to products and services.

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a PhD degree in Computer Science/Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Outstanding engineering skills in rapid prototyping and model training frameworks (PyTorch, JAX, TensorFlow, etc.). Python is required; C++ and CUDA proficiencies are a plus.
• Excellent skills in working with large-scale machine learning/AI systems and computer infrastructure.
• Experience with at least one of the following areas: multimodal foundation models or robotics.

Multimodal Foundation Model experience (example indicators):

• Hands-on training experience and publications in at least one of: large language models (LLMs), vision-language models, video generative models, diffusion models, and action-based transformers.

Robotics experience (example indicators):

• Hands-on training experience and publications in robot learning (e.g., reinforcement learning, imitation learning, classical control methods).
• Deep understanding of robot kinematics, dynamics, and sensors.
• Ability to safely operate robot hardware, lab equipment, and tools.
• Knowledge of control methods such as PID, MPC, whole body control.
• Familiarity with physics simulation frameworks such as MuJoCo and the Isaac suite.

Compensation and Logistics

• Internship hourly rate range: 30 USD - 94 USD (standard pay based on position, location, year in school, degree, and experience).
• Applications accepted at least until July 29, 2025.
• Start date listed as 2025-07-25.

Benefits

• Eligible for NVIDIA intern benefits (link provided in original posting).
• NVIDIA is an equal opportunity employer and committed to a diverse work environment.