Overview

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‍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 Interaction and Learning team in Microsoft Research advances research on next gen AI systems, where humans and AI agents work together to achieve outcomes that exceed what either could accomplish alone. We work closely with product teams deploying copilots, ensuring that our research addresses the challenges of large-scale, real-world AI systems. Our mission is to develop AI for complex knowledge work scenarios that can move beyond individual assistance to become a true collaborator, teammate, and cognitive partner. We aim to do this by shifting AI systems development from myopically optimizing immediate rewards to optimizing more complex objectives like group-level outcomes, team coordination, and shared understanding of information. Our research includes work on adaptive optimization and metrics, coordinated decision-making under uncertainty, preference elicitation and alignment, information flow for collective intelligence, and measurement and analysis of interactions in AI systems.

We work together with our collaborators in research and product teams on fundamental and applied research. We are particularly interested in candidates with a demonstrated desire to advance the state-of-the-art through research and experience in one or more of the following: Foundation Models, Reinforcement Learning, Multi-Objective Optimization, Natural Language Processing, Deep Learning, Interactive Learning, Agents, Causal Reasoning, Computational Social Science, Human-AI Collaboration, or Artificial Intelligence. Candidates are encouraged to browse some of our recent publications for examples of active areas of research in the group.

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‍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.

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‍Qualifications‍

Required Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or a related STEM field.
• At least one year of experience in conducting research, writing peer-reviewed publications and software development.

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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.

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Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to think unconventionally to derive creative and innovative solutions.
• Three years of experience in conducting research, writing peer-reviewed publications and software development.
• Actively conducting research in at least one of the following areas: Foundation Models, Reinforcement Learning, Multi-Objective Optimization, Natural Language Processing, Deep Learning, Interactive Learning, Agents, Causal Reasoning, Computational Social Science, Computational Economics, Human-AI Collaboration, or Artificial Intelligence.