AI Applied Scientist - PhD Intern, Evaluation Systems and Metrics

About the role

Are you passionate about building rigorous evaluation frameworks that advance AI systems? The Zillow AI Applied Science team develops next-generation evaluation methodologies for generative AI, computer vision, and agentic systems. We work at the intersection of research and production, designing evaluation frameworks that assess current AI capabilities and adapt as technology advances. We are seeking remote PhD interns for Summer 2026! As an intern, you will help develop cutting-edge evaluation methodologies for AI systems. Your research will focus on creating robust, scalable metrics and frameworks to assess the quality, consistency, and performance of generative models across multiple modalities. You may contribute in one or more of the following areas: Novel Evaluation Metrics : Develop innovative assessment methodologies for emerging AI capabilities, focusing on consistency and quality across complex multi-modal outputs Self-Improving Assessment : Design evaluation systems that learn and adapt from feedback, automatically discovering new evaluation criteria and improving assessment quality over time Privacy-Preserving Evaluation : Design frameworks that incorporate domain-specific implementations of differential privacy to protect sensitive user information while maintaining utility for model training and assessment. Ethical Fair Housing Evaluation : Develop scalable methodologies for assessing agentic systems, ensuring compliance with fair housing standards and promoting ethical, responsible AI deployment This role has been categorized as a Remote position. "Remote" employees do not have a permanent corporate office workplace and, instead, work from a physical location of their choice, which must be identified to the Company. U.S. employees may live in any of the 50 United States, with limited exceptions. In California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Washington state, and Washington DC the standard base pay range for this role is $104,000.00 - $166,000.00 annually. This base pay range is specific to these locations and may not be applicable to other locations. In Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont the standard base pay range for this role is $104,000.00 - $166,000.00 annually. The base pay range is specific to these locations and may not be applicable to other locations.