PhD Intern, AI Research Scientist, Motion Generation

Position Overview

Autodesk Research is a dynamic team of researchers, engineers, and industry domain experts who collaborate with leading academic and industry partners.

We are seeking an AI Research Scientist specializing in Motion Generation to intern with our Media and Entertainment research team this summer. Your work will focus on exploring novel motion generation techniques using state-of-the-art Machine Learning methods. You will work with other research scientists, ML engineers, and industry experts to deploy and validate your approach in the context of a character animation workflow, with the potential to significantly enhance the character animation pipeline for professional animators.

Our unique environment combines the best of academia with product-driven research. We have a strong track record of publishing at top-tier conferences such as NeurIPS, ICML, and SIGGRAPH, and our research also contributes to cutting-edge features in Autodesk’s suite of products.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement novel machine learning models for motion generation in the context of character animation
• Experiment with and analyze motion capture and key-framed animation datasets
• Collaborate with a cross-functional team to integrate and test new methods within existing animation workflows
• Review relevant AI/ML literature to identify emerging methods, technologies, and baseline approaches
• Document research findings and present results to the broader research team and other stakeholders
• Contribute to the publication of research papers and patents based on your findings

Minimum Qualifications

• Full-time student pursuing an MS or Ph.D. (preferred) in Computer Science, Graphics, Machine Learning or similar in an accredited program with at least one academic term to complete post-internship
• Proven experience in machine learning, with a focus on motion generation or character animation
• Strong programming skills in Python and familiarity with machine learning frameworks like TensorFlow or PyTorch
• Experience conducting research and publishing results

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous publications in the field of motion generation
• Experience with Transformer and Diffusion-based models
• Experience developing for character animation tools like Maya or 3ds Max
• Passion for and experience in the character animation and/or visual effects industry

Learn More

About Autodesk

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 Transparency

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

For U.S.-based roles, we expect a starting annualized intern base salary to be between:

• $47,840 and $95,680 (undergraduate students)
• $72,800 and $118,500 (Masters/MBA students)
• $118,560 and $162,240 (PhD students)

Equal Employment Opportunity

At Autodesk, we're building a diverse workplace and an inclusive culture to give more people the chance to imagine, design, and make a better world. Autodesk is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected characteristic. We also consider for employment all qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.

Diversity & Belonging

We take pride in cultivating a culture of belonging where everyone can thrive. Learn more here: https://www.autodesk.com/company/diversity-and-belonging