Research Intern - Microsoft Research Software-Hardware Co-design

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 a team of experienced research scientists in Microsoft Research. Our mission is to co-design novel and intelligent software systems and hardware-aware techniques to improve the efficiency, reliability, scalability, and trustworthiness of next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) systems. We build working systems, engage with academia, publish scientific papers, publish software for the research community, and deploy cutting-edge technologies.

Are you excited by problems such as:

• Using AI agents to automate hardware experimentation, system management, and performance analysis.
• Reverse engineering the performance and security characteristics of modern graphics processing unit (GPU) servers and their memory systems.
• Understanding and overcoming performance bottlenecks in high-bandwidth GPU interconnects, such as NVLink and NVLink-C2C.
• Improving the efficiency of large language models (LLMs) serving by optimizing data movement and communication across central processing units (CPUs), GPUs, and memory systems.

If you are, then we want to work with you!

Our team has deployed research to a multitude of Microsoft businesses, including Azure AI, Azure Hardware, Azure Networking, and Windows. We have also published our research at the top systems and security academic conferences including ASPLOS, ISCA, USENIX Security, IEEE S&P, SOSP, ACM SIGCOMM, USENIX NSDI.

As part of a small, tight-knit team, your work will be central to our focus and attention throughout the summer and beyond. Find out more about the team at: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/group/software-hardware-co-design-sharc/ . We practice open communication and respectful dialogue. We support multiple social and career building opportunities in our internship program.

We seek Research Intern candidates with demostrated technical skills and backgrounds in computer systems, computer architecture, and/or AI. We are particularly interested in candidates who have experience in one or more of the following areas: GPU architecture and memory systems, hardware performance characterization, AI agents and automation, high-performance interconnects, and large-scale LLM serving.

Candidates should have experience building and evaluating systems, proficient programming skills, and familiarity with state-of-the-art research in their area of expertise. We value candidates who are curious about how hardware systems work, enjoy designing experiments to uncover their behavior, and can translate their findings into practical software and systems improvements. Candidates should be comfortable working in a collaborative research environment and driving projects from initial ideas through implementation and evaluation.

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.

Responsibilities may include:

• Using AI agents to automate hardware experimentation, system management, and performance analysis.
• Reverse engineering the performance and security characteristics of modern GPU servers and their memory systems.
• Understanding and overcoming performance bottlenecks in high-bandwidth GPU interconnects, such as NVLink and NVLink-C2C.
• Improving the efficiency of LLM serving by optimizing data movement and communication across CPUs, GPUs, and memory systems.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in a Doctorate Degree program in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering or a relevant 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

• Experience building and evaluating research prototypes or engineering systems.
• Proficient programming skills and hands-on experience with systems software.
• Experience in at least one of the following areas:
  • GPU architecture, memory systems, or hardware performance analysis.
  • AI agents, tool-use frameworks, or automated experimentation.
  • High-performance interconnects, Direct Memory Access (DMA), or CPU-GPU and GPU-GPU communication.
  • LLM inference, distributed systems, or AI workload optimization.
  • Experience with experimental methodology, performance profiling, and analyzing complex hardware-software interactions.
  • Familiarity with relevant state-of-the-art research, demonstrated through research projects, publications, or prior industry experience.

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.

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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.