[Hiring] PhD Research Intern – AI & Computer Vision @Locus Robotics

Role Description

We are seeking a PhD Research Intern based in England, UK to join our AI & Robotics Research team for a Summer 2026 internship. This is a remote position offering hands-on experience developing and deploying cutting-edge AI and computer vision research on production robotic systems.

You will work with real-world data collected from a large-scale fleet of autonomous robots operating in complex, dynamic warehouse environments. This role is ideal for PhD students looking to bridge academic research and real-world robotic deployment.

Duration: Summer 2026 (Approx. 12 weeks)

Working hours: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (UK local time)

Location: Remote (England-based)

Responsibilities

• Develop advanced computer vision algorithms for object recognition, scene understanding, visual SLAM, and 3D perception in real-world robotic environments.
• Enhance robotic perception systems supporting navigation, localization, manipulation, and task execution using multimodal sensor data (RGB, depth, LiDAR).
• Research and prototype modern AI architectures, including:
  • State of the Art Visual SLAM and Structure from Motion
  • Large Language Models (LLMs) for robotics
  • Generative AI and diffusion models
  • Neural rendering, radiance fields, and Gaussian splatting
  • Graph neural networks and self-supervised learning
• Deploy and evaluate research at scale, transitioning ideas from prototype to production-ready systems.
• Collaborate closely with researchers and engineers across computer vision, robotics, machine learning, and software engineering.
• Document and communicate findings through technical reports, internal presentations, and (where appropriate) academic publications.

Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Vision, Robotics, Machine Learning, or a closely related field.
• Strong foundation in AI, deep learning, and computer vision.
• Hands-on experience with PyTorch (preferred) or TensorFlow.
• Proficiency in Python; working knowledge of C++ is a plus.
• Experience with robot perception systems (e.g., RGB-D cameras, stereo vision, LiDAR).
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent English communication skills and ability to collaborate in a distributed, multidisciplinary team.
• Experience working with large-scale datasets or real-world robotics deployments.
• Prior publications in top-tier robotics, CV, or ML venues.
• Familiarity with SLAM, visual odometry, or 3D reconstruction pipelines.

Benefits

• Unmatched real-world data: Work with data from 15,000+ robots operating across hundreds of customer sites globally.
• Real impact: Your work directly influences production robotic systems used daily in live customer environments.
• Research meets reality: Bridge cutting-edge academic research with deployment at scale.
• World-class mentorship: Learn from experienced researchers and engineers working at the intersection of AI and robotics.
• Career pathways: High-performing interns may be considered for future internships, extended research collaborations, or full-time roles.

Research Areas of Interest

• Anomaly Detection
• Generative AI & Diffusion Models
• Neural Rendering, Radiance Fields, Gaussian Splatting
• Robot Localization & Cross-View Geo-Localization
• Visual SLAM, Visual Odometry, Structure from Motion
• Monocular Depth Estimation & Semantic Segmentation
• Birds-Eye View (BEV) Representations
• Self-Supervised & Representation Learning
• Reinforcement Learning for Robotics
• Language Models for Embodied AI

Additional Information

Locus Robotics is an equal opportunity employer.

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