Research Intern - Document Intelligence and Content Understanding

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.

Documents are one of the richest forms in which human knowledge is created and communicated, combining language, visual structure, tables, images, and domain-specific conventions. Our team is developing the next generation of document intelligence systems that can perceive, understand, and reason over this complex multimodal content. As a Research Intern, you will investigate new models and learning techniques that advance the state of the art in document understanding, from fundamental research to challenging real-world scenarios. You will collaborate with researchers and engineers to evaluate new ideas at scale and translate research advances into practical AI capabilities. We are seeking candidates with strong machine learning research experience and an interest in multimodal AI, computer vision, natural language processing, or related areas.

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.

Required Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in a Doctorate Degree program in Computer Science, STEM, 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 conducting research in document intelligence, document understanding, multimodal AI, computer vision, natural language processing, or related areas.
• Experience with large language models, vision-language models, or other multimodal foundation models.
• Experience developing machine learning systems using Python and modern deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch.
• Demonstrated ability to define research questions, design experiments, establish evaluation methodologies, and analyze experimental results.
• Prior research experience demonstrated through publications at peer-reviewed conferences or journals, research internships, or significant research projects.
• Experience collaborating with researchers and engineers to translate research ideas into prototypes or practical AI systems.
• Proficient written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting research findings through papers, technical reports, posters, or presentations.

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.