ML Research Engineer Intern/Graduate

Company Overview

Partly is a global AI infrastructure company focused on the vehicle repair industry, headquartered in Austin, TX, with offices in London, Christchurch, and Auckland. The company is revolutionizing the $2 trillion automotive market with its pioneering AI model, Interpreter, designed to analyze vehicle damage and identify necessary parts. Founded by former Rocket Lab engineers, Partly has rapidly grown and secured a $50 million Series B funding round from prominent investors including DST Global and Blackbird Ventures.

Position Summary

As a Machine Learning Research Engineer Intern or recent graduate, you will collaborate with the Applied ML team to develop and deliver machine learning and algorithmic solutions addressing challenges related to vehicle damage and parts identification. This role involves hands-on engagement with real-world datasets and production-level implementation, accompanied by mentorship from experienced engineers.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to machine learning projects from problem framing to experimentation and deployment under mentor guidance.
• Develop evaluation metrics and gold-standard datasets that accurately reflect real-world system performance.
• Apply various modelling techniques including ranking, classification, retrieval, and heuristics to solve applied problems.
• Focus on production-ready solutions emphasizing latency, scalability, reliability, and fault tolerance.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product and engineering teams to align work with business outcomes.
• Maintain rigorous experiment reproducibility, documentation, and proactive communication.

Candidate Profile and Skills

• Academic background in computer science, machine learning, mathematics, engineering, or similar disciplines.
• Practical experience with machine learning or programming demonstrated through coursework, projects, research, or internships.
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to critically assess improvements and measurement methodologies.
• Proficiency in coding with an emphasis on clean, maintainable code and rapid tool acquisition.
• Excellent communication skills fostering collaborative work and openness to feedback.
• A passion for learning and tackling complex, real-world technical problems.
• Bonus: Familiarity with search, ranking systems, retrieval methods, graph analytics, large language models, or handling noisy real-world data.

Additional Benefits

• Daily healthy catered lunches available in key offices, fostering team connection.
• An annual wellness fund of $1,500 (or local equivalent) to support physical and mental health needs.
• Comprehensive family support including three months' paid parental leave plus a flexible phased return to work.
• Commuter support via paid parking or transportation allowances.
• Modern office environments designed for collaboration with social spaces and nearby amenities.
• Office-based working model with flexibility to manage schedules and balance personal life.
• Regular social events including weekly gatherings, monthly lunches, quarterly team meetups, and a yearly global offsite.
• Relocation assistance and travel coverage for quarterly company-wide events.

Location and Work Setup

This full-time, onsite role is based in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand. Successful candidates will be connected to the nearest office for onboarding and will have opportunities to join global team events.