Applied ML/CS PhD Internship at Cartesian in Cambridge, MA

Summary: Cartesian is building spatial intelligence for indoor environments to drive operational efficiency, focusing on in-store inventory visibility. They are seeking an Applied ML/CS PhD intern to contribute to core algorithms and drive new research directions in spatial AI, with a hands-on role impacting their deployed enterprise product. Responsibilities: - Explore new research directions in sensor fusion and spatial AI aligned with product needs - Develop and improve algorithms for indoor positioning and spatial perception - Run experiments on real-world customer deployments: collect data, analyze failures, propose fixes, and validate improvements - Contribute to production ML and signal processing pipelines (modeling, evaluation, deployment) - Collaborate with engineering and product to ship features to enterprise customers Required Qualifications: - Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field - Research track record of published work in top-tier CS/ML, vision, robotics, or related venues - Strong foundations in at least one of: machine learning, perception, sensor fusion, and/or signal processing - Demonstrated research output (e.g., strong publications, open-source projects, or impactful applied work) - Excellent communication skills and ability to work in a small, fast-moving team - Curiosity, ownership, and a bias toward action and real-world impact Preferred Qualifications: - Startup or early-stage company experience - Experience shipping products (e.g., part of internships) - Experience or strong interest in spatial AI (3D vision, SLAM, mapping, sensor fusion, geometric deep learning, …) is highly desirable Required Skills: Machine Learning, Signal Processing, Sensor Fusion Important Skills: Spatial AI, Computer Vision Nice-to-Have Skills: Curiosity, Bias Toward Action