Research Intern - AI (Agentic Systems & Interaction)

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.

Microsoft Research (MSR) AI Frontiers is inviting applications for Research Interns to join our team in pushing the boundaries of agentic AI systems and interaction research.

The mission of the  lab is to expand the pareto frontier of AI capabilities, efficiency, and safety through innovations in foundation models, agents, and agentic systems. Some of our projects include work on multi-agent systems (e.g. AutoGen), small language models (e.g. Phi, Orca), foundation models for actions (e.g., in gaming, robotics, and Office productivity tools), and AI evaluation (e.g., Eureka).

Focus areas for these internship positions include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Multi-agent systems and applications
• Reliable and general-purpose agentic capabilities
• Human-AI/agent interaction and experiences
• Training/fine-tuning foundation model-based agents
• Learning and memory in agentic systems
• Optimizing agentic systems
• Large-scale and distributed agentic systems
• Agentic evaluation and tooling
• Responsible AI agents

Priority will be given to candidates with a proven publication record in top-tier conferences, who have demonstrated the ability to perform hands-on research and development, and who work well in a collaborative and dynamic environment.

Required Qualifications

• Accepted or currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science or related STEM field.

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 Qualifications

• Experience publishing academic papers as a lead author or essential contributor in top-tier venues such as: CHI, UIST, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, CVPR, AAAI, ICAPS.
• Hands-on experience working with large foundation models (e.g., OpenAI GPT models, LLAMA etc) and state-of-the-art AI/ML frameworks and toolkits (e.g., Pytorch, Tensorflow, Langchain, AutoGen).
• Experience building and deploying prototypes, applications, or open-source technologies. Providing a link to GitHub profile (if available) and/or code samples, is highly encouraged.
• Hands-on experience evaluating AI models or systems (e.g., running benchmark experiments or user studies, analyzing data).
• Experience working in multi-disciplinary teams along with a team player mindset, characterized by effective communication, collaboration, and feedback skills.

The base pay range for this internship is USD $6,550 - $12,880 per month. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $8,480 - $13,920 per month.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: 

Microsoft accepts applications and processes offers for these roles on an ongoing basis.

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.

Additional Responsibilities

• Work hands-on on challenging and impactful research projects, including designing, developing, evaluating and sharing new agentic technologies.
• Apply your technical skills and expertise to build practical solutions to real world problems.
• Collaborate closely with other researchers and engineers on the team in a supportive and stimulating environment.