Introduction
IBM Research is advancing artificial intelligence through innovations in accelerator architectures, software, and hardware-software co-design. Join a world-class team of researchers developing technologies that bring efficient intelligence to cloud, edge, and emerging computing platforms.
Your role and responsibilities
IBM Research is seeking a Summer Intern to contribute to the development of advanced AI-driven solutions for performant communication and computing systems at the edge. The successful candidate will explore, develop, and optimize AI workloads on custom accelerator architectures, with a focus on efficient inference, kernel development, and performance analysis.
The work of this research internship sits at the intersection of AI systems, signal processing, and computer architecture. The successful candidate will investigate how emerging AI models and algorithms can be efficiently mapped onto specialized computing platforms for applications in wireless communications, edge intelligence, and next-generation computing systems. Example application areas include wireless signal processing, 5G/6G communications, integrated sensing and communications (ISAC), and AI-enhanced network intelligence.
The intern will work closely with researchers developing novel accelerator technologies and software ecosystems, contributing both creative research ideas and hands-on implementation. Success in this role requires curiosity, strong analytical skills, and the ability to translate complex algorithms into highly efficient implementations.
Responsibilities: Develop and optimize AI kernels and inference workloads for custom accelerator architectures. Evaluate and benchmark performance, efficiency, and scalability across representative workloads. Explore mappings of signal-processing and communication algorithms onto specialized computing platforms. Prototype and implement algorithms using low-level programming techniques and hardware-aware software optimization. Collaborate with researchers across AI systems, computer architecture, and communications domains. Contribute to the identification of new opportunities for AI acceleration in performant communication and computing applications operating at the edge.
Required education
Bachelor's Degree
Preferred education
Master's Degree
Required technical and professional expertise
- Strong programming skills and experience with low-level software development and performance optimization.
- Strong foundations in mathematics, algorithms, and numerical methods.
- Experience with AI inference, machine learning systems, signal processing, or related computational workloads.
- Familiarity with digital systems, computer architecture, accelerator architectures, DSP architectures, or FPGA-based implementations.
- Demonstrated ability to independently develop, prototype, and evaluate complex technical solut
Preferred technical and professional experience
- Experience implementing and optimizing algorithms on custom computing platforms, accelerators, FPGAs, DSPs, or related systems.
- Familiarity with AI accelerator architectures, domain-specific architectures, or hardware/software co-design methodologies.
- Experience with kernel development, performance analysis, profiling, and benchmarking.
- Knowledge of machine learning models and inference frameworks.
- Background in wireless communications, communication systems, computer vision, sensor processing, or related domains.
- Demonstrated research experience through publications, open-source contributions, or significant technical projects.
ABOUT BUSINESS UNITIBM Research is the organic growth engine of IBM and an innovation engine for our customers and partners. As part of this mission, IBM Research anticipates and examines 'What's Next in Computing' to ultimately create and integrate the technologies the world relies upon to solve big challenges and unlock new opportunities. We create and pioneer new markets for IBM, our partners and customers as exemplified in our ongoing quest to reach practical and large-scale quantum computing. Across IBM Research, we realize the power and potential to accelerate discovery with our partners and clients by combining the power of high performance computing, AI, and Quantum, all integrated through the hybrid cloud.
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ABOUT IBMIBM's greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.
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IBM is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.
OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILSSupplemental 1 employees may be eligible for up to 8 paid holidays, minimum of 56 hours paid sick time and the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan. IBM offers paid family medical leave and disability benefits to eligible employees where required by applicable law.
This position was posted on the date cited in the key job details section and is anticipated to remain posted for 15 days from this date or less if not needed to fill the role.
We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.
IBM will not be providing visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Therefore, in order to be considered for this position, you must have the ability to work without a need for current or future visa sponsorship.
The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full-time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job-related skills, experience and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start working during the calendar year.
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