AI Applied Scientist - PhD Intern, Foundational IQ

As a PhD Research Intern on the Foundational IQ team, you will help train and adapt large models that better understand homes and users, advancing representation learning, multimodal modeling, user modeling, and reinforcement/sequential decision-making for real-world problems at Zillow scale.

Requirements

• Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence or a related field with a strong research track record
• Experience in one or more of the following: LLMs: instruction tuning/fine-tuning, prompting, and evaluation/measurement
• Multimodal learning (image + text; familiarity with audio or geospatial a plus)
• Representation learning with limited labels (self/semi/weakly-supervised)
• User modeling for personalization systems
• Reinforcement learning or sequential decision-making
• Evaluating generative/agentic systems; privacy-aware and responsible AI practices (e.g., fair-housing considerations) are a plus
• Proficiency in Python and modern ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face)
• Clear communication and a collaborative mindset; motivated to publish at top venues

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package
• Generous paid time off
• 401(k) matching
• Retirement plan
• Visa sponsorship
• Four-day work week
• Generous parental leave
• Tuition reimbursement
• Relocation assistance