Toyota Research Institute (TRI) is looking to improve the quality of human life by developing new tools and capabilities to amplify the human experience, specifically in the area of automated driving, energy & materials, human-centered AI, human interactive driving, large behavior models, and robotics. This internship focuses on designing intuitive physical and digital experiences for managing and interacting with robots in a factory context.
Requirements
- A portfolio that demonstrates the user-centered design process and includes prototypes of varying fidelity.
- Able to work independently with some guidance from senior design staff; demonstrates a good understanding of best practices in design methodologies and tools.
- A keen eye for visual design and the ability to produce pixel-perfect design specifications.
- Experience in Figma, with a solid understanding of industry standards and features.
- Able to design a variety of UX artifacts, including personas, user journeys, prototypes, presentations, and UI mock-ups.
- Hands-on experience with a design system, and a strong grasp of best practices to ensure consistency within the team and across projects.
- Experience designing interfaces & interactions for a physical device, such as a robot.
- Experience using Raspberry Pi, Arduino, or other microcontrollers for prototyping interactions.
Responsibilities
- Design intuitive physical and digital experiences for managing and interacting with robots in a factory context.
- Explore applying the principles of user experience design in areas such as digital interfaces for managing a fleet of mobile robots within a factory setting.
- Develop tools for assisting factory team members in assuring the quality of manufactured parts.
- Design physical and digital methods for interacting with robots (and for robots to interact with humans).
- Extend a platform for prototyping and testing robotics UX concepts.
- Research and design robot interfaces for the manufacturing environment.
- Contribute directly to the design of robot prototypes for both research and applied projects.
Other
- Summer 2026 paid 12-week internship opportunity.
- This internship will be an in-office role.
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in HCI, Interaction Design, or a related field.
- Comfortable in a collaborative, interdisciplinary team environment with excellent visual, verbal, and written communication skills; comfortable receiving and incorporating constructive feedback.
- The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $45 and $65/hour for California-based roles.
