About the job
Research Internships at Microsoft provide a dynamic environment for research careers with a network of world-class research labs led by globally-recognized scientists and engineers, who pursue innovation in a range of scientific and technical disciplines to help solve complex challenges in diverse fields, including computing, healthcare, economics, and the environment. The AI Frontier Lab at Microsoft Research is seeking candidates to advance the state of the art in agentic model capabilities -- creating models and agents that can reliably perform tasks across digital systems on behalf of humans, combining automation, reasoning, and interaction capabilities to execute workflows end-to-end, leveraging both text-based environments (CLI tools, APIs, scripts, MCPs) and visual environments (GUI applications).
Responsibilities
Research Interns put inquiry and theory into practice. Alongside fellow doctoral candidates and some of the world’s best researchers, Research Interns learn, collaborate, and network for life. Research Interns not only advance their own careers, but they also contribute to exciting research and development strides. During the 12-week internship, Research Interns are paired with mentors and expected to collaborate with other Research Interns and researchers, present findings, and contribute to the vibrant life of the community. Research internships are available in all areas of research, and are offered year-round, though they typically begin in the summer.
Qualifications
Minimum
Accepted or currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science or related STEM field. At least 1 year of experience with deep learning and large language model training. Other Requirements: Research Interns are expected to be physically located in their manager’s Microsoft worksite location for the duration of their internship. In addition to the qualifications below, you’ll need to submit a minimum of two reference letters for this position as well as a cover letter and any relevant work or research samples. After you submit your application, a request for letters may be sent to your list of references on your behalf. Note that reference letters cannot be requested until after you have submitted your application, and furthermore, that they might not be automatically requested for all candidates. You may wish to alert your letter writers in advance, so they will be ready to submit your letter.
Preferred
Proven expertise in language model pre-training, post-training, or reinforcement learning. Proven publication record in top-tier conferences. Demonstrated ability to develop original research and perform hands-on research in a collaborative and dynamic environment.