Machine Learning

MERL is looking for a self-motivated intern to work on physics-informed machine learning with application to electric machine condition monitoring and predictive maintenance. The ideal candidate would be a Ph.D. student in electrical engineering or computer science with solid research background in electric machines, signal processing, and machine learning. Proficiency in Python and Matlab is required. The intern is expected to collaborate with MERL researchers to build machine learning model for multi-modal data analysis, prepare technical reports, and draft manuscripts for scientific publications. The total duration is anticipated to be 3-6 months. The start date is flexible. This internship requires work that can only be done at MERL.

We are on the lookout for passionate and skilled interns to join our cutting-edge research team focused on developing efficient machine learning techniques for sustainability. This is an exciting opportunity to make a real impact in the field of AI and environmental conservation, with the aim of publishing at leading AI research venues.

What We're Looking For:

• Advanced research experience in generative models and computationally efficient models
• Hands-on skills for large language models (LLM), vision language models (VLM), large multi-modal models (LMM), foundation models (FoMo)
• Deep understanding of state-of-the-art machine learning methods
• Proficiency in Python and PyTorch
• Familiarity with various deep learning frameworks
• Ph.D. candidates who have completed at least half of their program

Internship Details:

• Duration: approximately 3 months
• Flexible start dates available
• Objective: publish research results at leading AI research venues

If you are a highly motivated individual with a passion for applying AI to sustainability challenges, we want to hear from you! This internship offers a unique chance to work on meaningful projects at the intersection of machine learning and environmental sustainability.

MERL is seeking a highly motivated and qualified intern to conduct research on applying foundation models to robotic manipulation. The focus will be on leveraging large-scale pretrained models (e.g., vision-language models, multimodal transformers, diffusion policies) to enable generalist manipulation capabilities across diverse objects, tasks and embodiments including humanoids. Potential research topics include few-shot policy learning, multimodal grounding of multiple sensor modalities to robot actions, and adapting foundation models for precise control and high success rate.

The ideal candidate will be a senior Ph.D. student with a strong background in machine learning for robotics, particularly in areas such as foundation models, imitation learning, reinforcement learning, and multimodal perception. Knowledge on large-scale Vision-Language-Action (VLA) and multimodal foundation models is expected. The internship will involve algorithm design, model fine-tuning, simulation experiments, and deployment on physical robot platforms equipped with cameras, tactile sensors, and force/torque sensors. The successful candidate will collaborate closely with MERL researchers, with the expectation of publishing in top-tier robotics or AI conferences/journals. Interested candidates should apply with an updated CV and relevant publications.

Required Specific Experience

• Strong background in machine learning for robotics, particularly foundation models (e.g., pi_0, OpenVLA, RT-X, etc.) and imitation learning.

• Experience with simulation environments such as Mujoco, Isaac Gym, or RLBench.

• Experience with physical robot platforms and sensors (vision, tactile, force/torque).

• Proficiency in Python, PyTorch, and modern deep learning frameworks

• Strong publication record in robotics, machine learning, or AI venues

Internship Details

• Duration: ~3 months
• Start Date: Fall 2025 (flexible based on mutual agreement)
• Goal: Publish research at leading robotics/AI conferences and journals