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Intern Autonomous Vehicle Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Winter 2027 Intern, Controls

Mountain View, CA · On-site

$17.75 - $23.50/hr

Help advance our state-of-the-art autonomous trucking platform. What you'll bring: * Field(s) of ... Expertise with vehicle dynamics and modeling. * Strong C++ software development skills. * Knowledge ...

... autonomous vehicle systems. Unlike other NPUs or neural network accelerators in the industry today that can only accelerate a portion of a machine learning graph, the Quadric GPNPU executes both NN ...

... autonomous vehicle systems. Unlike other NPUs or neural network accelerators in the industry today that can only accelerate a portion of a machine learning graph, the Quadric GPNPU executes both NN ...

... autonomous vehicle systems. Unlike other NPUs or neural network accelerators in the industry today that can only accelerate a portion of a machine learning graph, the Quadric GPNPU executes both NN ...

Showing results 41-60

Intern Autonomous Vehicle information

See California salary details

$9

$17

$25

How much do intern autonomous vehicle jobs pay per hour?

As of Sep 3, 2026, the average hourly pay for intern autonomous vehicle in California is $17.21, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $14.23 and $18.99 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does an intern in autonomous vehicles do?

An Intern in Autonomous Vehicles typically assists with the development, testing, and evaluation of self-driving car technologies. Their responsibilities may include working with sensor data, helping write and debug code, and supporting research on vehicle perception, planning, or control systems. Interns may also participate in field tests, data analysis, and collaboration with engineers to improve vehicle safety and performance. This role offers hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology and exposure to multidisciplinary teams working on the future of transportation.

What types of projects or tasks can an intern in autonomous vehicles expect to work on during their internship?

As an Intern in Autonomous Vehicles, you can expect to be involved in a variety of hands-on projects, such as data collection and analysis for sensor systems, supporting the development and testing of perception or control algorithms, and assisting with simulation or real-world testing of autonomous platforms. You’ll typically work within a multidisciplinary team, collaborating with experienced engineers and researchers to solve real-world challenges. This role offers a great opportunity to gain exposure to cutting-edge technologies and workflows, while also building practical skills that are highly valued in the autonomous vehicle industry.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an intern in autonomous vehicles, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Intern in Autonomous Vehicles, you need a solid background in computer science, engineering, or robotics, with coursework or projects in artificial intelligence, machine learning, or control systems. Familiarity with programming languages like Python or C++, simulation tools such as ROS (Robot Operating System), and relevant certifications in autonomous systems are highly valuable. Strong problem-solving skills, teamwork, and effective communication set standout candidates apart in collaborative research and development environments. These skills and qualifications are crucial for contributing meaningfully to cutting-edge autonomous vehicle projects and ensuring safety, innovation, and technical excellence.

What is the difference between Intern Autonomous Vehicle vs Intern Robotics Engineer?

AspectIntern Autonomous VehicleIntern Robotics Engineer
Required CredentialsRelevant coursework in autonomous systems, programming, engineeringBackground in robotics, mechanical/electrical engineering, programming
Work EnvironmentAutonomous vehicle labs, testing sites, software development teamsRobotics labs, manufacturing facilities, research centers
Industry UsageAutomotive, transportation, mobility servicesManufacturing, research, automation industries
Common Search/ComparisonYesYes

Intern Autonomous Vehicle roles focus on developing and testing self-driving car technologies, often within automotive or mobility companies. Intern Robotics Engineer positions involve designing and building robotic systems across various industries. While both roles require programming and engineering skills, the Autonomous Vehicle internship is specialized in vehicle automation, whereas Robotics Engineering covers a broader range of robotic applications.

What are the most commonly searched types of Autonomous Vehicle jobs in California?

The most popular types of Autonomous Vehicle jobs in California are:

What are popular job titles related to Intern Autonomous Vehicle jobs in California?

For Intern Autonomous Vehicle jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What cities in California are hiring for Intern Autonomous Vehicle jobs?

Cities in California with the most Intern Autonomous Vehicle job openings:

Infographic showing various Intern Autonomous Vehicle job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 65% Full Time, 32% Part Time, 2% Temporary, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 99% Physical, and 1% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $35,790 per year, or $17.2 per hour.

Contract Student Worker - Machine Learning Engineer - Data Mining & VLM (Full-time)

Zoox

Foster City, CA • On-site

$30/hr

Contractor

Posted 27 days ago


Zoox rating

7.8

Company rating: 7.8 out of 10

Based on 21 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

212th of 495 rated machine equipment manufacturers


Job description

About Zoox

Zoox is an autonomous ridehailing company building the world's first purpose-built robotaxi - fully electric, bidirectional, with no steering wheel or driver's seat. Backed by Amazon and founded to make transportation safer, cleaner, and more accessible, Zoox designs its vehicles entirely around the rider. We're currently operating in Las Vegas and San Francisco, with Austin and Miami on the horizon, and testing underway across seven U.S. markets.

About Our Part-Time Student Worker Program

Zoox's part-time student worker program puts you at the center of one of the most ambitious challenges in transportation. You'll contribute to real projects, work alongside engineers and researchers pushing the boundaries of autonomous technology, and gain experience that goes well beyond the classroom. We're looking for students who bring strong academic foundations, curiosity that doesn't stop at coursework, and a drive to be part of something that matters.

Role Overview

Support Zoox's Rules of the Road (RotR) program, where a miner + LLM/VLM tooling method automatically mines and triages potential road-rule violation events from simulation and fleet data. The student will be helping create or improve the data miners that generate the candidate events, help develop and evaluate the VLM triagers - curating golden datasets, measuring precision/recall against expert triage, and extending automation to new regulations and data sources. 

Responsibilities
  • Develop and iterate data miners locating potential RotR Violations following SSO requirements
  • Develop and iterate on VLM/LLM workflows and pipelines for classifying RotR events
  • Curate golden datasets and evaluate triager precision/recall against human triage
Required Qualifications
  • Extend triagers from simulation to fleet/service data
  • Strong Python / Pyspark / SQL skills
  • Coursework in machine learning, computer vision, or NLP. Understanding of supervised learning, model evaluation, and common sources of dataset bias and label noise.
  • Analyze error cases and translate findings into pipeline improvements
  • Hands-on experience building production LLM/VLM applications, including agentic workflows, RAG, tool calling, evaluation, and/or fine-tuning.
  • Familiarity with software-engineering practices such as Git, unit testing, debugging, and code reviews.
Bonus Qualifications
  • Strong Scala skills.
  • Experience with Spark optimization and distributed data-processing systems.
  • Experience with autonomous vehicles, robotics, mapping, or transportation-related datasets.
Program Requirements
  • Experience evaluating multimodal or vision-language models.
  • Currently enrolled in a B.S. or M.S. program in a relevant discipline.
  • Experience with prompt optimization, model fine-tuning, or human-in-the-loop ML systems.
  • Available to commit to a minimum three-month assignment.
  • Able to commit a minimum of 40 hours per week.
  • Able to work on-site at one of our office locations.
  • Must adhere with Zoox confidentiality requirements, including refraining from using or sharing proprietary company information outside of Zoox, such as in academic research, theses, publications, or presentations.
We want to be transparent: this is not an internship. The Part-Time Student Worker Program is designed to complement your academic experience by providing meaningful, ongoing work alongside your studies. Rather than participating in a cohort-based program, you'll join a team directly and contribute to real projects with real impact. While the program does not include structured intern programming or a pathway to full-time employment, it offers valuable opportunities to learn, develop new skills, and gain hands-on experience in a professional environment.
 
Compensation for this role is $30/hour.
 
This is a contract position; employment will be through a vendor contracted with Zoox. The hourly rate is as posted, and benefits eligibility is determined by the vendor.

About Zoox
Zoox is developing the first ground-up, fully autonomous vehicle fleet and the supporting ecosystem required to bring this technology to market. Sitting at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and design, Zoox aims to provide the next generation of mobility-as-a-service in urban environments. We're looking for top talent that shares our passion and wants to be part of a fast-moving and highly execution-oriented team.

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Accommodations
If you need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process please reach out to [email protected] or your assigned recruiter.

A Final Note:
You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Zoox, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
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About Zoox

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Zoox is dedicated to creating the world's first fully autonomous vehicle fleet and the necessary ecosystem to make this technology accessible. Positioned at the crossroads of robotics, machine learning, and design, Zoox strives to deliver the future of mobility-as-a-service in urban settings. We seek exceptional individuals who share our enthusiasm and are eager to join a dynamic and results-driven team.

Industry

Manufacturing

Company size

1,001 - 5,000 Employees

Headquarters location

Foster City, CA, US