
About Motional
Driving the future of autonomous mobility safely
Key Highlights
- Partnership with Lyft for autonomous ride-hailing services
- Extensive testing in Las Vegas and Boston
- Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts
- Over 1,000 employees dedicated to autonomous technology
Motional, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, is a leader in autonomous vehicle technology, specializing in driverless cars and mobility solutions. The company has partnered with major players like Lyft and has conducted extensive testing in cities such as Las Vegas and Boston. With over 1,000 e...
🎁 Benefits
Motional offers competitive salaries, equity options, generous PTO, comprehensive health benefits, and a flexible remote work policy to support work-l...
🌟 Culture
Motional fosters a culture of innovation and safety, emphasizing collaboration among engineers and researchers to push the boundaries of autonomous te...
Skills & Technologies
Overview
Motional is hiring a 2026 Summer Intern for their Foundations team focusing on Localization, RVA & Mapping. You'll work on generating reliable actions for autonomous systems using skills in Python, C++, and machine learning. This internship is based in Pittsburgh.
Job Description
Who you are
You are currently pursuing a PhD or Master's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Robotics, or a related field. You possess strong programming skills, particularly in Python, and have a preference for C++. Your coursework or project experience includes motion planning, control systems, trajectory optimization, and robotics or autonomous systems. You are familiar with machine learning concepts and have a keen interest in applying them to real-world problems.
You have a solid understanding of classical control methods such as PID and MPC, and you are knowledgeable about kinematics, dynamics, and robotics frameworks. You understand actuator constraints, latencies, and real-time execution considerations, which are crucial for developing efficient algorithms in autonomous systems. You are eager to collaborate with cross-functional teams and contribute to innovative solutions in the field of robotics.
What you'll do
As an intern at Motional, you will focus on generating reliable, safe, and efficient actions for autonomous systems. Your responsibilities will include developing or refining action-generation algorithms and models, motion planners, and trajectories. You will run simulations or real-world experiments to evaluate the quality of action execution, supporting the analysis and tuning of action performance in terms of latency, smoothness, and stability.
You will collaborate closely with the Behaviors team to ensure that the actions you develop are feasible and align with higher-level goals. Additionally, you will work with the Perception team to evaluate the downstream impacts of perception noise or drift on action performance. Throughout your internship, you will document tools, experiments, and action models clearly, contributing to the overall knowledge base of the team.
What we offer
Motional provides a unique opportunity to work at the forefront of autonomous vehicle technology. You will gain hands-on experience in a collaborative environment, working alongside experts in the field. This internship will not only enhance your technical skills but also provide you with insights into the challenges and innovations in robotics and machine learning. You will be part of a diverse team that values inclusion and encourages you to apply even if your experience doesn't match every requirement. Join us in shaping the future of transportation.
Interested in this role?
Apply now or save it for later. Get alerts for similar jobs at Motional.
Similar Jobs You Might Like
Based on your interests and this role

Data Engineer
Motional is seeking a 2026 Summer Intern for their Infrastructure team to help build and optimize data pipelines and tooling. You'll work with Python, C++, and SQL to support scalable data systems. This internship is ideal for students pursuing degrees in Computer Science or related fields.

Ai Research Engineer
Motional is seeking a 2026 Summer Intern for their Behaviors team to conduct research on Machine Learning for prediction and planning. You'll work with Python and PyTorch on driving behavior topics. This internship is ideal for MS/PhD students in relevant fields.

Ai Research Engineer
Motional is seeking a 2026 Summer Intern for their Perception team to support the development of perception systems. You'll work with multi-modal sensor data and computer vision models, requiring proficiency in Python and C++. This internship is ideal for those pursuing a Master's or PhD in a related field.

Ai Research Engineer
Waymo is seeking a 2026 Summer Intern for their AI Research team to research and implement self-supervised pretraining methods for foundational 3D perception models. You'll collaborate with engineering teams and contribute to cutting-edge research in autonomous driving.

Machine Learning Engineer
DoorDash is seeking a Machine Learning Intern (PhD) for Summer 2026 to tackle challenges in machine learning and artificial intelligence. You'll work on cutting-edge research and contribute to improving product experiences using technologies like NLP and Computer Vision. This internship is ideal for PhD candidates in relevant fields.