--- title: 'Research Intern (BS/MS/PhD) at Pika' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/research-intern-bs-ms-phd-pika-palo-alto-rgvx54yph1n5' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-09' --- # Research Intern (BS/MS/PhD) at Pika - **Company:** Pika - **Location:** Palo Alto, CA - **Employment:** internship - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-07-10 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/pika/e135acb1-2a0b-47b4-81b2-3cb0f787657a ## Job description ## About the Role At Pika, we are shaping the future of creative infrastructure with real-time, multimodal generation and intelligent agentic platforms. We are looking for passionate Research Interns at the BS, MS, or PhD level with significant experience working on Videogen to join our team and make an immediate impact. In this role, you will directly contribute to mid-training and post-training efforts for Videogen models and support advanced generative systems. Familiarity with multimodal large language models (MLLMs) is valued as a bonus. This internship is ideal for students and researchers who have hands-on Videogen experience, are excited to work at the intersection of generative AI and multimedia, and are eager to make meaningful contributions alongside top AI talent. Flexible part-time and full-time internship terms are available. ## What You’ll Do - Work directly on large-scale mid-training, post-training, and optimization efforts for Videogen models. - Design, prototype, and refine algorithms for high-throughput video and multimedia data pipelines. - Collaborate with experienced researchers and engineers on advanced AI and video generation technology. - Apply new research techniques and production-scale workflows to deploy Videogen advancements into real-world applications. ## What We’re Looking For - BS, MS, or PhD-level backgrounds, with demonstrated Videogen experience strongly preferred. - Expertise in video generation models or frameworks. - Proficiency in Python and ML toolkits (such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, etc.). - Prior exposure to multimodal LLM inference, generative models, or related areas is a bonus. - Fast learner who can adapt to new research and technologies quickly. - Excellent communicator and effective team collaborator. ## What We Offer - Flexible internship: part-time or full-time roles available - Unique opportunity to make an immediate impact with Videogen and generative AI research - Mentorship and collaboration with innovative researchers and engineers - Competitive compensation and a dynamic, mission-driven environment - Onsite work setup, with headquarters in Palo Alto, CA ## About Pika Pika empowers creators by building cutting-edge agentic and multimedia platforms. Our mission is to remove technical barriers and make real-time generative and intelligent orchestration accessible to everyone. If you are ready to accelerate your AI career, hone your video generation expertise, and contribute to the next wave of creative technology, we want to hear from you. ## About Pika ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Pika is an AI-native creative platform that enables users to generate, edit, and transform videos—and now "birth" persistent AI agents—from text, images, and voice. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series B) - **Headquarters**: Palo Alto, California, United States (also has an office in Mountain View, CA) - **Founded**: 2023 - **Founders**: Demi Guo (CEO), Chenlin Meng (CTO) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Generative AI / AI Video & Agent Platform - **Target customers**: B2C (creators, social media users, marketers) and B2B (developers via Pika API and MCP) - **Mission or purpose**: To make video creation accessible to everyone, and now to give everyone a "creative partner" AI agent ## Products & Services - **Pika Video App**: The core product—an AI video generator that turns text prompts, images, and videos into new clips. Supports styles (3D animation, anime, cartoon, cinematic) and effects like "squish it, melt it, cake-ify it." - **Pika Agent**: A persistent, portable AI agent that users "birth" and own. Multi-modal (text, voice, image, video) and lives across platforms. Users can train it to have personality, memory, and voice—essentially a creative co-pilot. - **AI Trendmaker**: A feature that lets users hop on viral video trends with just a selfie and a sound. - **Pika API**: Hosted API for developers to integrate Pika's video generation capabilities into their own apps and workflows. - **Pika MCP**: Model Context Protocol for connecting agents to external tools and data. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (estimated at ~$470M post-money based on Series B terms) - **Total Funding**: $135M across 4 rounds - Pre-Seed (Jan 2023): $15M led by Nat Friedman & Daniel Gross - Seed (May 2023): Amount undisclosed - Series A (Nov 2023): $35M led by Lightspeed Venture Partners - Series B (Jun 2024): $80M led by Spark Capital - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Spark Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross - **Growth Signals**: - Headcount grew 27.4% YoY to 59 employees - Monthly website visits: ~1.87M (global rank #25,677) - Talent sourced from top AI labs (TikTok, Jane Street, Runway, Kling AI, Snap Inc.) - 1 active job posting (Head of Engineering) as of mid-2026 - Launched Pika Agent and Pika API in 2025-2026, expanding beyond video generation into agentic AI ## Competitive Advantages - **"Birth and own" agent model**: Pika is pioneering the concept of a user-owned, persistent AI agent that evolves with the user—different from one-off chatbot interactions. - **Multi-modal creative platform**: Combines video generation, agent capabilities, and trend tools in one ecosystem. - **Strong early traction and talent density**: Raised $135M quickly from top-tier investors; alumni from TikTok, Runway, Jane Street, and other elite tech firms. - **Small, high-leverage team**: ~59 people operating globally with a "small, dynamic team" culture that values efficiency and ambition. ## Strategic Focus - **Agent-first future**: Pika is shifting from "just a video tool" to an agent platform where users create and own their AI creative partner. - **Platform expansion**: Opening up via API and MCP to integrate with external apps and workflows. - **Global reach**: Operating in 19 countries with a distributed (but Palo Alto-centric) team. - **Continued R&D in generative video**: Improving realism, style variety, and real-time generation. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Pika describes itself as "small, dynamic" and values "efficiency, collaboration, and creativity." They seek "intellect, work ethic, and ambition." - **Remote/Hybrid**: Not explicitly stated, but the team is distributed across 19 countries (with the US hub in Palo Alto/Mountain View). Likely hybrid or flexible. - **Notable perks**: The careers page emphasizes "career growth in a culture that fosters both individual and collective development." They also champion an inclusive culture. - **Engineering culture**: Tech stack includes Python, TypeScript, Kubernetes, TensorFlow, React, and more. The team has strong representation from top AI labs and trading firms. The open role is Head of Engineering, suggesting they need a senior leader to scale. - **Impact**: You'd be building the infrastructure for a new category of "owned AI agents" and state-of-the-art video generation—working on cutting-edge generative AI. ## Sources 1. [pika.art](https://pika.art/) – Official website 2. [pika.art/careers](https://pika.art/careers) – Careers page 3. [LinkedIn (Pika Labs)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/pika-labs) – Company data, headcount, funding, talent 4. [Craft.co](https://craft.co/pika-art) – Company summary, locations, sectors 5. [Apple App Store](https://apps.apple.com/pl/app/pika-ai-self-agent/id6758411447) – Pika Agent app details ## Other roles at Pika - [Head of Finance](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-finance-pika-palo-alto-amgp22pfthqa) — Palo Alto, CA - [Head of Sales](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-sales-pika-palo-alto-2vyc6rx4jzs7) — Palo Alto, CA - [Product Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/product-manager-pika-palo-alto-ghy7tmfjf3t6) — Palo Alto, CA - [Head of Growth](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-growth-pika-palo-alto-wkvx79nkgnhn) — Palo Alto, CA - [Research Scientist, Data](https://feeny.ai/job/research-scientist-data-pika-palo-alto-qbm0kc8mhbnz) — Palo Alto, CA - [Software Engineer, Product](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-product-pika-palo-alto-wjxfx4wsxag0) — Palo Alto, CA - [Software Engineer, Backend](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-backend-pika-palo-alto-jzyhv95kakwm) — Palo Alto, CA - [ML Engineer, Inference & Optimization](https://feeny.ai/job/ml-engineer-inference-optimization-pika-palo-alto-mg3v4ygd3yt3) — Palo Alto, CA - [Research Scientist, Foundation Model (Video Generation)](https://feeny.ai/job/research-scientist-foundation-model-video-generation-pika-palo-alto-7p60ewgn092p) — Palo Alto, CA