Overview
Drive innovation at Microsoft Research Cambridge by joining a world-class team pioneering breakthroughs in robotics and AI infrastructure. Collaborate across disciplines to develop impactful solutions for datacenter automation and next-generation intelligent systems. Work alongside leading experts, leverage state-of-the-art technology, and contribute to projects that shape the future of computing. This is a unique opportunity to accelerate your career, expand your skills, and make a tangible impact at Microsoft and beyond in a dynamic, intellectually stimulating environment where your ideas drive real-world change.
Start Date: March 2026
Duration: 12 Weeks
Location: Cambridge, UK Responsibilities
- Lead and collaborate on innovative robotics research projects, designing, prototyping, and validating new algorithms and control strategies.
- Work closely with a multidisciplinary team to address both fundamental and applied research challenges.
- Plan, design, and execute experiments to test and validate prototypes in simulation and real-world scenarios.
- Join a vibrant, mentor-guided research community for a 12-week internship, collaborating with fellow interns and leading researchers.
- Gain hands-on experience, present your work, and expand your professional network while making a real impact at Microsoft Research.
Qualifications
Required/Minimum Qualifications:
- PhD degree (or on-track to complete) in Computer Science, Robotics, Mechanical/Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field.
- Demonstrated expertise in one or more areas of robotics, such as manipulation and grasping, perception, kinematics, dynamics, and motion control.
- Hands-on experience programming robots, developing control system algorithms, and integrating software with hardware.
- Experience with physics-based simulation platforms or real-world robotics data collection.
- Familiarity with digital twin environments, predictive planning, or advanced data pipelines.
- Ability to thrive in collaborative, multidisciplinary teams.
Preferred/Additional Qualifications:
- Proficiency in programming languages such as Python and/or C++ for simulation development, integration, or data pipeline automation.
- Knowledge of world models, VLA models, reinforcement learning, or VLMs.
- Experience with multimodal sensor data (RGB-D, force-torque, tactile) or scalable data collection.
- Background in sim-to-real transfer, manipulation benchmarking, or generalizable ML/data techniques.
- Strong publication record in top robotics venues (e.g., ICRA, RA-L, IROS, CoRL).
