AI Applied Scientist - PhD Intern, Next-Gen Agentic and Multi-Modal Home Exploration Experience

Job Description

About the teamAre you passionate about creating AI agents capable of reasoning, planning, and collaborating in real-world situations? The Zillow AI Applied Science team is dedicated to developing the next generation of agentic systems, powered by large foundation models, to assist customers in exploring , finding, and dreaming their ideal homes. With millions of users actively seeking the best way to shop for their next home, we are focused on building a cutting-edge online shopping experience. At the convergence of research, engineering, and product, we design AI agents that execute meaningful actions in multi-stakeholder environments. These agents achieve this by comprehending user needs and data, maintaining context, and optimizing for the customer-facing experience.

Some of the questions we are asking in this new paradigm are : How can AI analyze complex user interactions within the UX to determine and suggest the most effective next steps for users? What is the optimal collaborative approach between AI and users to achieve the established objectives?

About the role

We are seeking remote PhD interns for Summer 2026!

As an intern, you will use your expertise in Agentic systems, conversational AI, LLMs, and multi-modal inference to advance customer-facing experiences and interfaces. Your research will help build AI agents capable of handling complex, rich media oriented, multi-turn interactions while maintaining context and taking appropriate actions. Your internship will develop the next-generation real estate shopping experience that integrates Agentic and Multi-modal reasoning to transform how users find their ideal homes through pushing research problems including but not limited to :

Personalized and Guided Home Exploration : An agentic approach that proactively guides and helps users navigate millions of listings to identify the best homes, the experience should be highly engaging, fun and goal oriented

Conversational Optimization : Enhanced multi-turn conversations with effective context management and improved dialogue quality, achieved through organized data from retrieved results

Multi-modal Collaboration System : A combination of 3D computer vision (utilizing 3D reconstructions and Gaussian splats) and LLM interfaces, powered by conversational AI

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.\n\nIn 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.

Who you are

Currently enrolled in a PhD program in computer science, NLP, machine learning, or a related field, with solid publication record

Background in at least one of the following areas :

Human computer interaction (HCI)

User behavior research in the context of agentic AI

Agentic AI (tool use, planning, reasoning, decision-making)

Conversational AI and dialogue optimization

Multi-modal inference models with focus on combining 3D Computer Vision and LLMs

Multi-agent systems and orchestration

Memory systems and context engineering

Reinforcement learning and reward modeling

Familiarity with modern deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, Hugging Face Transformers)

Strong research mindset, with motivation to publish

Interest in applying AI to complex, multi-stakeholder domains

​Here at Zillow - we value the experience and perspective of candidates with non-traditional backgrounds. We encourage you to apply if you have transferable skills or related experiences.

Get to know us

Zillow is reimagining real estate to make home a reality for more and more people.

As the most-visited real estate website in the United States, Zillow® and its affiliates help movers find and win their home through digital solutions, first class partners, and easier buying, selling, financing and renting experiences. Millions of people visit Zillow Group sites every month to start their home search, and now they can rely on Zillow to help make it easier to move. The work we do helps people get home and no matter what job you're in, you will play a critical role in making home a reality for more and more people.

Our efforts to streamline the real estate transaction are supported by a deep-rooted culture of innovation, our passion to redefine the employee experience, a fundamental commitment to Equity and Belonging, and world-class benefits. These benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life, and disability coverages as well as parental leave, family benefits, retirement contributions, and paid time off. We’re also setting the standard for work experiences of the future, where our employees are supported in doing their best work and living a flexible, well-balanced life. But don’t just take our word for it. Read recent reviews on Glassdoor and recent recognition from multiple organizations, including : the 100 Best Companies to Work For, Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award, Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equity Index, and TIME 100 Most Influential Companies list.

Zillow Group is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact your recruiter directly.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable state and local law.

Applicants who receive job offers from Zillow Group will be asked to sign a Proprietary Rights Agreement which includes confidentiality, intellectual property assignment, customer and employee non-solicitation, and non-competition provisions. If you are contacted for a role at Zillow Group and wish to review a copy of the Proprietary Rights Agreement prior to receiving an offer, you may request a copy from your Recruiter.