Applied Science PhD Internship

Job Description

Overview

Start Date: April 2026
Contract Type: Internship (40hrs/week)
Duration: 12-weeks
Location: United Kingdom: Reading, London, Cambridge

Come build community, explore your passions and do your best work at Microsoft with thousands of University interns from every corner of the world. This opportunity will allow you to bring your aspirations, talent, potential—and excitement for the journey ahead.

As an Applied Science Intern at Microsoft, you will be at the forefront of technological innovation, working collaboratively to bring research to life in our products and services. You'll gain expertise in cutting-edge research areas, apply advanced concepts to real-world needs, and use state-of-the-art tools to make a tangible impact on product quality and business outcomes. You'll contribute to the creation of intelligent solutions through data analysis, modeling, and machine learning, ensuring our products remain at the leading edge of innovation.

The Applied Sciences Group (ASG) in Windows and Devices is seeking highly motivated and talented PhD students to join our team as a Research Intern. This internship offers a unique opportunity to work on cutting-edge research in the fields of Large Language Models (LLMs), Vision-Language Models (VLMs), and Generative Image & Video. The successful candidate will collaborate with a team of experienced researchers and engineers to tackle real-world challenges and contribute to the advancement of AI technologies.

At Microsoft, Interns work on real-world projects in collaboration with teams across the world, while having fun along the way. You’ll be empowered to build community, explore your passions and achieve your goals. This is your chance to bring your solutions and ideas to life while working on cutting-edge technology.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research in one or more of the following areas: Agentic ML, LLMs, VLMs, and Generative Image & Video.
• Depending on the applicant’s background, this can be either: Implementation and evaluation of a novel approach to model optimization and deployment or identification and application of a known ML approach to a novel product-related scenario.
• Design and implement experiments to test new hypotheses and validate research findings.
• Develop and optimise algorithms and models for various AI applications.
• Collaborate with team members to integrate research outcomes into practical solutions.
• Present research findings to the team and contribute to publications and patents.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a PhD in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field
  • Must have at least one additional quarter/semester/term of school remaining following the completion of the internship
• At least one published paper in CVPR, ICML, ICLR, NeurIPS, WACV, AAAI
• Fluency in English
• Strong communication and presentation skills. A presentation of the applicant’s research will be part of the interview process.

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.