Future Product Innovation Research Intern, Human Computer Interaction

At Toyota Research Institute (TRI), we’re on a mission to improve the quality of human life. We’re developing new tools and capabilities to amplify the human experience. To lead this transformative shift in mobility, we’ve built a world-class team advancing the state of the art in AI, robotics, driving, and material sciences.

This is a paid 12-week internship opportunity and is a hybrid, in-office role.

Here’s a glimpse into the Internship experience from some of our TRI interns!

The Team

This internship opportunity falls within the Human-Centered AI Division (HCAI) . We are an integrated team of ML researchers, behavior scientists, and human-computer interaction experts. At the core of our work, we aim to create purposeful human futures enabled through technology.

The Internship

We are seeking a highly motivated PhD research intern to join our Future Product Innovation team and advance the frontiers of Generative AI for product design. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in Human Computer Interaction, with demonstrated interest in developing and evaluating approaches for adapting AI-generated artifacts to users’ evolving preferences. In this project, the intern will explore how multimodal behavioral signals from user interactions can inform generative AI-driven product personalization and recommendation.

Over the course of the project, in addition to Future Product Innovation group meetings, the intern will also participate in all Human-Centered AI division meetings and meetings with stakeholders from relevant Toyota business groups. The intern will be exposed to how interdisciplinary industrial research works and learn from our team as well as the other interns in our division. Furthermore, the intern will engage in strategy discussions about how their research connects to business impact at Toyota.

Responsibilities

In collaboration with your mentor and the other researchers in the department, you will:

- Scope the project to align to the core research efforts;

- Be the primary driver of the technical plan (e.g., model development, analysis plan) with regular feedback from mentors;

- Execute the project using TRI resources; and

- Present the project’s approach and findings in research meetings.

Qualifications

- Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Human Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field.

- Experience analyzing behavioral signals, such as eye gaze, mouse interactions, verbal utterances, and interaction logs, to infer and model user intent and preferences.

- Experience designing and developing interactive research prototypes to investigate novel human-AI interaction paradigms.

- Experience designing and conducting human-subject studies, including collecting and analyzing behavioral interaction data using quantitative and/or qualitative methods.

- Proven track record of working autonomously while soliciting feedback.

- Proven track record of publications at top venues (e.g., CHI, UIST, IUI, UbiComp/IMWU.

- Strong interpersonal skills and a great teammate.

- Strong interest in interdisciplinary work.

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience developing adaptive AI experiences from inferred preferences.

- Familiarity with implicit preference modeling, consumer decision making, personalized recommendation systems, or user modeling.

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $45 and $65/hour for California-based roles. Base pay offered will depend on multiple individualized factors, including, but not limited to, a candidate's experience, skills, job-related knowledge, and market location. TRI offers a generous benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, and paid time off benefits (including holiday pay and sick time). Additional details regarding these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

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