---
title: 'AI Research Intern  (BS/MS) at Atoms'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/ai-research-intern-bs-ms-atoms-mountain-view-1814rtd1m7qc'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-29'
---

# AI Research Intern  (BS/MS) at Atoms

- **Company:** Atoms
- **Location:** Mountain View, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-10-27
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-29
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/cssmerge/jobs/8919606002

## Job description

## Who we are

Atoms is building the machines that power the next era of progress.

Over the last decade, software has transformed the digital world. But the physical world, where food is made, minerals are mined, goods are moved, and industries are run, remains far less intelligent, far less efficient, and far more constrained. We’re changing that.

Atoms builds Physical AI real-world robots for the industries that move civilization forward, starting with food, mining, and transport. Our systems are designed to understand, predict, and control the real world with precision, turning complex physical operations into something more reliable, more scalable, and more productive.

This work requires more than robotics. It requires deep integration across AI, hardware, software, operations, manufacturing, and real estate. We don’t just build machines in a lab. We deploy them into real environments, operate them, learn from them, and improve them until they work at scale.

We are researchers, roboticists, engineers, and builders. We believe the next great technology companies will not only transform information, but the physical systems that shape everyday life.

If you want to work on hard problems with real-world impact, join us.

## About the role

We are seeking an AI Research Intern to join our founding team and bridge the gap between high-level AI research and real-world physical actuation for our next-generation autonomous transport platforms. In this role, you will contribute to core research initiatives on Perception, World Models and Action models. You will help translate cutting-edge theoretical breakthroughs into scalable, real-world deployment on physical autonomous systems, driving how our platforms perceive, simulate, and navigate complex environments.

## What you’ll do

- Integrate and adapt emerging AI research into internal model pipelines, validating performance on real-world datasets and simulation.
- Prototype and evaluate RL, trajectory planning, and distillation algorithms based on state-of-the-art literature.
- Train and fine-tune multimodal models that map real-time sensor inputs and behavioral goals to vehicle actuation.
- Experiment with world model architectures using multi-sensor log data to improve simulation fidelity and trajectory querying.
- Analyze edge cases and failure modes in novel driving environments to iterate on model performance and stability.
- Run rigorous simulation experiments alongside research and validation teams to identify performance bottlenecks and track model improvements.

## What we're looking for

- Education: Currently enrolled in a Bachelor's or Master's degree program in Computer Science, EECS, Robotics, AI, or a closely related field.
- Core Expertise: Coursework, project experience, or research background focused on at least one of the following domains:
- Generative World Models / Video Generation / Diffusion Models
- Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models or embodied AI
- Reinforcement Learning (RL), trajectory optimization, or decision-making systems
- Large-scale multimodal Transformer architectures applied to robotics or spatio-temporal data
- Framework Fluency: Advanced hands-on proficiency with PyTorch or JAX for training and fine-tuning large-scale neural networks.
- Programming: Proficiency in Python and working knowledge of C++.

## Preferred Qualifications

- Prior research, project, or internship experience in autonomous driving, mobile robotics, or spatial AI.

## Why join us

At Atoms, you’ll work on one of the defining challenges of our time bringing automation into the physical world to drive real, lasting impact. We exist to uncover valuable unknown truths and turn them into progress, which means constantly pushing beyond what’s known and building what doesn’t yet exist. The work is ambitious and often challenging, but it’s grounded in a shared sense of purpose and a team committed to seeing it through together. Our work only matters if it serves others, and we know that meaningful progress depends on the trust of the people we serve and the strength of our team so we invest in both, creating an environment where you can do your best work and grow.

What else you need to know

This role is based in our Mountain View or San Francisco office. Atoms is a company driven by invention and continuous change, we are constantly reimagining our industries, building new products, and refining how we operate. We do our best work together. That’s why all of our office-based teams work onsite, five days a week.

The hourly pay range for this internship role is $70/hr per hour.

Actual compensation will be determined on an individual basis and may vary depending on experience, skills, and qualifications.

Atoms accepts applications on an ongoing basis.

Ready to join us as we serve those who serve others?

#LI-Onsite

## About Atoms

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Atoms builds physical automation systems—robotics, AI, software, and infrastructure—for mining, transport, and food industries to automate the physical world.
- **Entity Type**: Private (formerly City Storage Systems; rebranded from CloudKitchens/ProFood parent)
- **Headquarters**: Los Angeles, California, United States
- **Founded**: Rebranded as Atoms in March 2026; predecessor City Storage Systems founded earlier (~2018)
- **Founders**: Travis Kalanick (CEO)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Physical AI, Robotics, Automation Machinery Manufacturing, Industrial Infrastructure
- Target customers: Mining/quarry operators, transportation & logistics companies, food service brands and kitchens (B2B, heavy industrial)
- Mission or purpose statement: “We build progress machines.” / “The constraint on human progress is our ability to automate the physical world.”

## Products & Services
- **Atoms Mining**: Autonomous haulage systems for mines and quarries designed to improve productivity, safety, and efficiency in complex industrial environments.
- **Atoms Transport**: Wheelbase for robots — autonomous delivery and logistics systems for moving goods. Includes the acquired Pronto AI technology (acquisition completed April 2026).
- **Atoms Food (ProFood)**: Robotics for better food. Automated kitchen systems that deliver consistent, affordable meals at scale; kitchen infrastructure platforms (bringing orders, delivery, operations into one platform); food real estate; Lab37 (an operating system for food facilities); and a forthcoming “built” meals brand.
- **Lab37**: The operating system/software layer that connects and orchestrates Atoms’ physical automation across domains.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding – Not publicly disclosed; previously raised significant capital as City Storage Systems/CloudKitchens (estimated at over $1B in prior rounds); 414 employees on LinkedIn as of mid-2026
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Travis Kalanick (founder/CEO, previously co-founded Uber); partners include mining/quarry operators, food brands (specific names not public)
- **Growth Signals**: 414 employees (+13.2% monthly growth); operates in 24 countries; 26 active job postings (+160% monthly); recent acquisition of Pronto AI (April 2026); rebranding from City Storage Systems to Atoms (March 2026) signals strategic consolidation and pivot; hiring across robotics, AI, software, hardware, operations globally

## Competitive Advantages
- **Cross-stack vertical integration**: Controls sensors, compute, software, manufacturing, operations, real estate, energy, and infrastructure — a rare “full-stack” approach to physical AI.
- **Founder advantage**: Led by Travis Kalanick (Uber co-founder) who has deep experience scaling category-defining companies and attracting top engineering/operations talent.
- **Real-world deployment**: Robots with “real jobs” — not lab demos — deployed in working mines, kitchens, and transport systems today.
- **Engineering culture**: Emphasis on “cross-stack competence,” ownership, and solving problems “most companies won’t attempt.”
- **Global footprint**: Presence in 24 countries allows rapid deployment and operations at scale.

## Strategic Focus
- Consolidating formerly separate brands (CloudKitchens, ProFood, Pronto AI) under one unified “Atoms” identity to create a single physical AI platform
- Expanding autonomous mining haulage into more quarries and mines globally
- Scaling food automation from kitchen robotics to end-to-end food infrastructure (real estate, ordering, delivery, operations)
- Growing AI, ML, and autonomy capabilities (hiring Senior Software Engineer - ML Infrastructure, Backend Infrastructure, Robotics Engineer)
- International expansion with dedicated regional roles (APAC, LATAM, Europe)

## Why Work Here
- **High ownership**: “Take ownership early, and contribute from day one” — interns and new hires work on live products, not side projects.
- **Hard problems**: Solving physical-world automation challenges that most companies won’t attempt — mining, logistics, food production at scale.
- **Compensation**: “Outsized rewards for outsized performance” — competitive compensation, healthcare, benefits, and PTO.
- **Culture**: “Builders” and “hardcore engineers” who have scaled category-defining companies — a relentless, high-expectation environment focused on excellence.
- **Work policy**: Mix of in-office roles (Mountain View, CA; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Austin, TX) and international locations (Vilnius, LTU; Makati, PH; Bogotá, COL; São Paulo, BRA). Remote/hybrid policy not explicitly stated but many roles list specific city locations.
- **Tech stack**: Modern — Python, TypeScript, Go, Java, Kubernetes, Docker, PostgreSQL, Redis, GraphQL, gRPC, Bazel, Google Cloud, NVIDIA, dbt, Looker, Airflow.
- **Team composition**: 25% of employees in technical roles (154 people); strong presence of HR, legal, finance, and operations supporting global scale; talent sourced from CloudKitchens, Amazon, Uber, Google, ProFood Properties, City Storage Systems.

## Sources
1. [atoms.co](https://atoms.co/)
2. [atoms.co/careers](https://atoms.co/careers)
3. [atoms.co/openroles](https://atoms.co/openroles)
4. [LinkedIn – Atoms](https://www.linkedin.com/company/atomsco)
5. [Greenhouse – Atoms Jobs](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/cssmerge)

## Other roles at Atoms

- [Physical & Facility Security Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/physical-facility-security-engineer-atoms-san-francisco-gn5k1jhwhb6n) — San Francisco, CA
- [Operations Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/operations-manager-atoms-san-francisco-8vfsybatgfnx) — San Francisco, CA
- [Lifecycle Marketing Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/lifecycle-marketing-manager-atoms-dallas-a9fcshzd2jwj) — Dallas, TX
- [QC Technician - PCBA Firmware Flashing and Functional Test](https://feeny.ai/job/qc-technician-pcba-firmware-flashing-and-functional-test-atoms-san-francisco-54nf8myvcwcv) — San Francisco, CA
- [Payroll Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/payroll-associate-atoms-bogota-gexfgffw8nag) — Bogotá, Colombia
- [HR Generalist - Transport & Mining](https://feeny.ai/job/hr-generalist-transport-mining-atoms-san-francisco-3kz23zw9q5t0) — San Francisco, CA
- [Shop Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/shop-manager-atoms-dallas-znrkm49faxpt) — Dallas, TX
- [Senior Recruiting Coordinator](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-recruiting-coordinator-atoms-los-angeles-2kx5eb1x0kga) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Electrical Engineer - Mission Critical](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineer-mission-critical-atoms-san-francisco-0r80s860efbd) — San Francisco, CA
- [Procurement Coordinator](https://feeny.ai/job/procurement-coordinator-atoms-bogota-g1gk91yw7rq6) — Bogotá, Colombia