Co-op, Robotics Research - Physical AI (OTTO at Rockwell Automation)

Rockwell Automation is a global technology leader focused on helping the world’s manufacturers be more productive, sustainable, and agile. With more than 28,000 employees who make the world better every day, we know we have something special. Behind our customers - amazing companies that help feed the world, provide life-saving medicine on a global scale, and focus on clean water and green mobility - our people are energized problem solvers that take pride in how the work we do changes the world for the better.

We welcome all makers, forward thinkers, and problem solvers who are looking for a place to do their best work. And if that’s you we would love to have you join us!

Job Description

The Robotics Research Co-op is apart of the Robotics Centre of Excellence (RCoE). The RCoE is the "innovation engine" of Rockwell Automation robotics. We are a dynamic, research group dedicated pre-programmed automation and ushering in the new era of Autonomous Operations. Here, you'll work with world-class experts in a culture that prizes rapid prototyping and the desire to see "impossible" ideas working on the factory floor.

We are looking for a passionate Robotics Research Intern who is at the intersection of AI theory and hands-on implementation. You will work with senior researchers, gaining invaluable hands-on experience with the latest embodied intelligence. Your work will directly help develop next-generation Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models, World Models, and Reinforcement Learning (RL) frameworks.

Relocation assistance is not provided.

Your Responsibilities

• Data Science: Collect, manage, and process physical AI datasets to promote development of industrial tasks
• Physical AI Development: Train, fine-tune, and evaluate multi-modal robotics models for real-world industrial tasks.
• Simulation-to-Real: Develop "sim-to-real" pipelines using them to accelerate policy training.
• Software Excellence: Apply modern system programming languages and following software engineering best practices.
• Distribution: Document your research through technical reports, white papers, and publications.

The Essentials - You Will Have

• Actively pursuing a bachelors or advanced degree at an accredited college or university.
• Legal authorization to work in Canada is required. We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future for this job opening.

The Preferred - You Might Also Have

• Expected graduation date is December 2027 or beyond
• Prior internship or co-op in related field
• Relocate to Waterloo area if over 50 miles. Relocation assistance is not provided
• Pursuing a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or similar
• Involvement in robotics/technology clubs or related projects
• Core understanding of Machine Learning concepts, vision and robotics applications.
• Experience working with robotics hardware and sensors
• Experience curating and managing training datasets
• Foundation in software development, with the ability to design clean, maintainable systems and quickly understand unfamiliar codebases.
• Familiarity with PyTorch, LeRobot, HuggingFace.
• Exposure to simulation environments for data generation
• Experience with ROS/ROS2
• Experience with robotics manipulation principles, control and planning
• Exposure to foundation models such as Vision-Language-Action models

What We Offer

• Health Insurance including Medical and Dental
• Health Care Spending Account (HCSA – dependent on the plan chosen)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Retirement plans
• Paid Time off
• Volunteering Time off
• Employer Savings Plan Matching (includes RRSP, TFSA, and EPSP)
• Employer Paid DC Pension
• Maternity and Parental Leave Top-Up
• Fitness Reimbursement Program
• Flexible Work Schedule where you will work with your manager to enjoy a work schedule that can be flexible with your personal life.

This position is part of a job family. Experience will be the determining factor for position level and compensation.

For this role, the compensation is from $20 - $32 hourly. Actual pay will be based on factors such as skills, knowledge, education, and experience.

This posting is for an existing vacancy within our organization

At Rockwell Automation we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

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We are an Equal Opportunity Employer including disability and veterans.

If you are an individual with a disability and you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please contact our services team at +1 (519) 618-4899.