Research Intern - Next-Generation AI Agents

Location: United States, Washington, Redmond Department: Research Sciences

Overview

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.

Join M365 Research and contribute to build the next generation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents that take on long-running work, remember what matters, and get better with experience. Our team drives applied research that reimagines how agentic systems are built, evaluated, and deployed at enterprise scale, and we transfer these advances into Microsoft products. We closely collaborate with multiple research teams and product groups across the globe, and we communicate our research through peer-reviewed publications, open-source releases, blog posts, patents, and industry conferences.

Our topics of interest include

Agent memory and skills: building and maintaining memory, context, and reusable skills so long-running agents stay current and get better with experience.

Reliable, self-improving agents: diagnosing failures in long agent trajectories, improving agents without regressions, and evaluating them in realistic simulated environments.

Proactive, long-horizon agents: planning, multi-agent coordination, and self-monitoring for agents that work over extended periods.

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.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

Currently enrolled in a Doctorate Degree program in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, 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

At least 1 year of experience in conducting research and authoring peer-reviewed publications.

Experience in machine learning, NLP, or related AI areas such as LLMs and AI agents.

Hands-on experience with agent memory, skill or tool learning, RL or post-training, agent evaluation, self-improvement, planning, or multi-agent systems.

Demonstrated coding skills, including building agent systems and rapid prototyping with AI coding agents.

Proficient written and verbal communication skills.

Ability to collaborate across research and product teams and apply research to real-world problems.

Publications in top venues such as NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, NAACL, COLM, AAAI, IJCAI, KDD, or SIGIR.

The base pay range for this internship is USD $6,810 - $13,480 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 $8,920 - $14,610 per month.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-intern-pay

Microsoft accepts applications and processes offers for these roles on an ongoing basis throughout the academic calendar (September - April).

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.