Human-Centered Applied Behavioral Science Intern

At Toyota Research Institute (TRI), we’re on a mission to improve the quality of human life. We’re developing new tools and capabilities to amplify the human experience. To lead this transformative shift in mobility, we’ve built a world-class team in Energy and Materials, Human-Centered AI, Human Interactive Driving, and Robotics.

This is a paid 12-week internship opportunity in Fall 2024. Please note that this internship will be a hybrid in-office role.

The Mission

This internship opportunity falls within the Carbon Neutrality Department in the Human-Centered AI Division (HCAI). At the core of our research, we aim to understand, simulate, and shape carbon-neutral behaviors and the technology that enables them.

The Team

We are an integrated team of behavioral scientists, machine-learning researchers, and human-computer interaction experts. Our Applied Behavioral Scientists bridge our research with the next generation of Toyota products and strategy.

The Internship

We are looking for an Applied Behavioral Science intern with methodological expertise in experimental design and data analysis and topical expertise in at least one of the following areas: Judgment & decision-making, behavior change, or intervention development and testing, especially in the context of carbon neutrality.

Over the course of the project, in addition to Carbon Neutrality group meetings, you will also participate in all Human-Centered AI Division meetings. You will be exposed to how interdisciplinary industrial research works and learn from our team and the other interns in our division. Furthermore, you will engage in strategy discussions about how your internship research project connects to business impact at Toyota.

In collaboration with your mentor and the other researchers in the department, you will have the following responsibilities below:

• Scope a research project to align with our Carbon Neutrality Applied Behavioral Science efforts
• Be the primary driver of the technical plan (e.g., study design, analysis plan) with regular feedback from your mentor and teammates
• Implement and complete the project using TRI resources
• Present the project’s approach and findings in research meetings to the Carbon Neutral Department, the HCAI Division, and TRI, as well as to partners from Toyota business groups
• Our goal is that you end the summer with work that informs internal strategy and may be publishable in an academic journal or conference

• Enrolled in PhD degree program
• Track record of implementing research projects from start to finish
• Desire to work on challenging, open-ended research projects
• Desire to be part of a highly interdisciplinary team, and an understanding of how this will improve your work
• Determination to apply research skills and findings to real-world problems
• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously while soliciting feedback
• Interested in the topic space of carbon neutrality, electrified vehicles, and behavior change

Please add a link to Google Scholar and include a full list of publications when submitting your CV to this position.

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $45 and $65/hour for California-based roles; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Note that TRI offers a generous benefits package including vacation and sick time. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

Please reference this Candidate Privacy Notice to inform you of the categories of personal information that we collect from individuals who inquire about and/or apply to work for Toyota Research Institute, Inc. or its subsidiaries, including Toyota A.I. Ventures GP, L.P., and the purposes for which we use such personal information.

TRI is fueled by a diverse and inclusive community of people with unique backgrounds, education and life experiences. We are dedicated to fostering an innovative and collaborative environment by living the values that are an essential part of our culture. We believe diversity makes us stronger and are proud to provide Equal Employment Opportunity for all, without regard to an applicant’s race, color, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, religion, marital status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state or local laws.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.