PhD Researcher, AI Research

Position Overview 

As a PhD Research intern in Autodesk Research’s AI Lab, you will explore and apply advanced machine learning techniques to empower our customers in designing and building a better, safer, and more sustainable world. We are a team of researchers, engineers, and industry domain experts working on projects that range from learning-based design systems, computer vision, graphics, robotics, human-computer interaction, sustainability, simulation, manufacturing, architectural design and construction. 

We are seeking a research intern to join our research team focused on machine learning and generative methods for content creation in the media and entertainment space. In this role, you will conduct research on novel methods for character animation and related problems at the intersection of machine learning and computer graphics. Potential research directions include generative motion models, controllable character animation, data-efficient learning and adaptation, representation learning, and learning approaches that incorporate physics or simulation. The goal of this research is to enable more intuitive use of our animation tools by automating repetitive tasks. 

Autodesk's AI Lab is actively engaged in the broader research community, targeting publications at top-tier conferences such as CVPR, NeurIPS, ICML, SIGGRAPH, and ICLR. We collaborate with top academic & industry labs, combining the best of an academic environment with product-driven research. 

Minimum Qualifications 

• Full-time student pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computer Graphics, Computational Physics, Machine Learning or a discipline in an accredited program 
• Broad understanding of machine learning and deep learning 
• Excellent Programming and software development skills, with experience in Python 
• Proficient with ML & DL platforms & libraries (PyTorch, TensorFlow, Keras, ONNX/Runtime, scikit-learn, etc.) 
• Experience conducting research and publishing results 
• An excellent communicator and team player 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Deep expertise in one or more areas such as computer graphics, character animation, motion generation, 2D/3D geometry representation learning, generative models, and unsupervised/self-supervised learning 
• Experience with differentiable physics, data-driven computational physics, solver-driven learning (physics-in-the-loop), physics-informed models 
• Experience with transfer learning, fine-tuning, few-shot learning, or other data-efficient learning methods is a plus 
• Bonus: experience with physics real-time engines (such as Bullet, Unreal, or PhysX) 
• Bonus: experience with modeling tools (such as Maya, Houdini, or Blender) 

Responsibilities     

• Conduct research on machine learning methods for character animation and related problems in media and entertainment  
• Formulate research questions, conduct literature reviews, and design experiments to investigate them  
• Build prototypes to test and explore concepts  
• Evaluate research findings and prototypes to make recommendations for impacting business and products 
• Author a full research paper  
• Present the results of your research externally and internally 

About the Canada PhD Research Program  

The 2027 Canada Research intern program runs for 18 weeks (May 24th – Oct 1st, 2027). All internships are paid. As a research intern, you will contribute to meaningful projects, be mentored by industry leaders, and participate in tech talks and other activities designed to support your personal and professional development. Our internships align with Autodesk’s Flexible Workplace approach, which is designed to meet the needs of our business while providing flexibility in support of office, remote and hybrid work preferences. 

Welcome to Autodesk! Amazing things are created every day with our software – from the greenest buildings and cleanest cars to the smartest factories and biggest hit movies. We help innovators turn their ideas into reality, transforming not only how things are made, but what can be made.

We take great pride in our culture here at Autodesk – it’s at the core of everything we do. Our culture guides the way we work and treat each other, informs how we connect with customers and partners, and defines how we show up in the world.

When you’re an Autodesker, you can do meaningful work that helps build a better world designed and made for all. Ready to shape the world and your future? Join us!

Salary is one part of Autodesk’s competitive compensation package. Offers are based on the candidate’s experience, educational level, and geographic location.

This role may require in-person onboarding and/or in-person ID verification.