Dexmate

Research Intern, PhD (AI, Robotics) at Dexmate (Fremont, CA)

Dexmate· Fremont, CA· $35–$75/hr·

Role details

Salary
$35–$75/hr
Work type
Onsite
Employment
Full-Time
Work auth
Required
Skills
Machine LearningPyTorchDeep LearningReinforcement LearningImitation LearningRoboticsComputer VisionNatural Language ProcessingLLMVLMIsaac GymIsaac Sim

Summary

Dexmate is seeking a PhD student research intern to advance robot manipulation capabilities through machine learning and robotics. The role involves developing AI algorithms for dexterity, conducting cutting-edge research across multiple disciplines, and implementing state-of-the-art learning-based manipulation and...

Job description

Dexmate is building the foundation for physical AI — a unified platform that combines high-quality robotic hardware with a universal Physical AI OS, making robots as easy to build and deploy as software. Today, robotics is fragmented, slow, and closed: most builders are forced to reinvent the same stack again and again, and most ideas never make it past the prototype stage. We exist to change that. Our mission is to democratize robotics by lowering the barrier to entry, delivering a plug-and-play platform for developers, researchers, and enterprises, and cultivating an open ecosystem that accelerates the evolution of physical AI. If you want to help shape the next layer of human capability — and believe the future of robotics should be built together, not in isolation — we'd love to build it with you.

Responsibilities

  • Develop new algorithms and methods for training AI models for enhancing the robot dexterity.
  • Conduct cutting edge research across multiple disciplines (Robotics, RL/IL, control, perception, LLM, VLM, etc.).
  • Work with large-scale ML systems and large-scale model training/fine-tuning.
  • Design and implement state-of-the-art learning-based manipulation/navigation/control algorithms on real robots.
  • Work with other teams to develop a diverse set of robust manipulation skills for robots.

Qualifications

  • Currently enrolled in a PhD degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, etc., or related technical field.
  • Passionate about working with robots.
  • Research experience in embodied AI, robotics, computer vision, machine learning, human-AI interaction, and computer science.
  • Experience with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch.
  • Must obtain work authorization in U.S. at the time of hire and maintain ongoing work authorization during employment.
  • Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
  • At least 2 years of experience conducting independent research.
  • Deep understanding of the SOTA robot learning techniques (reinforcement learning, imitation learning, etc.)
  • A track record of research excellence with your work published in top conferences and journals such as Science Robotics, IJRR, RSS, CoRL, ICRA, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, etc.
  • Experienced with robot simulators such as Isaac Gym/ Isaac Sim/ SAPIEN/ MuJoCo/Drake, etc.
  • Experience setting up ML experiments and analyze their results.
  • Experience building systems based on machine learning and/or deep learning methods.

Why work at Dexmate

  • Mission-Driven: Opportunity to work on cutting-edge general-purpose robotics and Physical AI, moving technology from labs to real-world impact.
  • Engineering-Heavy Culture: 60% of employees are in technical roles (AI, robotics, software, hardware), with a strong emphasis on hands-on building.
  • Fast-Growing Startup: ~328% headcount growth in one year, indicating high trajectory and opportunity for early employees to have outsized impact.
  • Location: HQ in Santa Clara, CA (Silicon Valley), with an in-office work policy (on-site workspace).
  • Compensation: Engineering roles list salary ranges like $100K–$300K, competitive for the robotics/AI space.
  • Notable Culture Signals: "Build with us" hiring language, active LinkedIn community (4,273 followers), and a focus on "smile, reach out, and instantly connect" suggests a collaborative, builder-oriented environment.

Application questions