Research Intern - Fundamentals of AI: Security, Agents, Systems & Control

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.

We are seeking multiple Research Interns to work with researchers in Microsoft Research Special Projects and the Deep Learning Group , alongside partner product teams, to advance core AI research across security, agentic workflows, and next-generation architectures.

1. Safety and Security

Develop methods to strengthen the robustness and trustworthiness of AI systems. This includes defenses against data poisoning, jailbreak attacks, and other adversarial threats, as well as principled threat evaluation and risk modeling through statistical analysis and the establishment of realistic attack benchmarks.

2. Post-Training Alignment and Multi-Turn Interaction

Design alignment strategies and fine-tuning harnesses that enable post-training for efficient, coherent multi-turn interactions in agentic systems to ensuring aligned models maintain guardrails under complex tool use and orchestration.

3. Next-Generation Architectures

Investigate architectures beyond transformers to address task-specific needs, such as models for controlled dynamical systems, interpretable designs inspired by neuroscience, and multi-modal integration for richer reasoning.

Projects span fundamental research and system-level applications, leveraging shared datasets, training and compute resources, and unified evaluation frameworks to enable impactful cross-domain applications.

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 or accepted in a PhD program in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related STEM field.
• At least 1 year of experience in conducting research and authoring peer-reviewed publications.

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

• Proficient written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work in a cross-functional, multi-disciplinary environment across research and product teams.

The base pay range for this internship is USD $6,710 - $13,270 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 $8,760 - $14,360 per month.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

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.