Research Intern - Cloud Systems Reliability

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 Cloud Systems Reliability Group in Microsoft Research is seeking motivated Research Interns to work on cutting-edge research at the intersection of distributed systems, software engineering and data analytics. The group's research aims at improving all aspects of reliability and availability of today's hyperscale cloud systems. This ranges from designing novel and efficient systems reliability mechanisms, to developing scalable techniques for debugging and testing systems, to implementing effective tools for runtime monitoring and troubleshooting. We are looking for applicants who have a strong systems background and an interest in research that spans multiple practical aspects of systems reliability, such as:

• Working with large-scale codebases, configuration, and deployment of Microsoft cloud services in both testing and production.
• Analyzing production data to understand how real cloud systems fail and what can be done to prevent them.
• Developing practical program analysis techniques to uncover hard-to-find bugs before production.
• Developing practical and novel techniques for diagnosing failures, runtime monitoring, logging, and failure prevention.
• Integrating and empirically evaluating prototype solutions on real Microsoft services, code-bases, and incidents.

During this Research Internship, you will have the opportunities to work with top researchers and engineers at Microsoft Research as well as various product teams in Microsoft Azure and Office365, and to develop innovative solutions to challenging research problems in the above technical areas. You will also have the unique opportunity to evaluate your techniques on thousands of software projects in Microsoft and publish your work in top systems conferences.

Required Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science or a 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

• Demonstrated ability to develop original research agendas.
• Able to collaborate effectively with other researchers and product development teams.
• Proficient interpersonal skills, cross-group, and cross-culture collaboration.
• Ability to think unconventionally to derive creative and innovative solutions.

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.