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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.

The **Interactive Multimodal Futures (IMF)** group at Microsoft Research seeks a PhD-level Research Intern to work on a project at the intersection of **situated interaction** , **affective computing** , and **human-centered AI systems** . The project will include elements of multimodal sensing (physiology, speech, gaze, gestures, olfaction/gas, etc.), signal processing, and real-time interaction.

Our group’s research spans several sub-areas:

+ Human-centered AI for **affective computing** and adaptive experiences.

+ **Situated interaction** between humans and AI systems deployed in the physical world.

+ **Conversational AI Agents** that are empathetic and context aware.

+ **Ambient intelligence** with unobtrusive sensing in the real world.

You will collaborate with IMF researchers to prototype systems, run user studies, develop machine learning models, and explore technical capabilities of generative AI for human-AI interaction.

Please include a cover letter indicating which of the above research topics you are most interested in and aligned with. Be sure to indicate which of the specific preferred qualifications (listed below) you possess.

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.

Additional Responsibilities

+ Design and implement research prototypes for real-time situated and adaptive interaction.

+ Explore the use of the latest generative AI techniques related to interpreting multimodal interaction, conversation, and behavioral signals.

+ Conduct user studies and analyze multimodal data.

+ Contribute to publications and share findings with the research community.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

+ Currently enrolled in a PhD or equivalent program in HCI, HRI, Computer Science, Cognitive Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Psychology, or related STEM field.

+ At least 2 years of research experience using human-centered approaches in HCI, HRI, ML, CV, or Affective Computing.

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.

+ Please include a cover letter indicating which of the research topics you are most interested in and aligned with. Be sure to indicate which of the specific preferred qualifications (listed below) you possess.

Preferred Qualifications

We are looking for some combination of the following qualifications (please address these in your cover letter):

+ Experience writing peer-reviewed publications.

+ Experience with generative AI techniques, ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch), and real-time interactive systems.

+ Strong collaboration and communication skills.

+ Conducting human-subjects research.

+ Experience implementing research prototypes (frontend, backend, or both).

+ Using human-centered design & research methods.

+ Familiarity with reinforcement learning or time-series signal processing.

+ Working with large datasets (e.g., text, vision, physiology, behavioral).

**Affective Computing sub-area** :

+ Background in affective computing, behavioral, or physiological sensing.

+ Experience collecting data with wearable devices.

+ Hardware prototyping or wearable device experience.

+ Healthcare/wellbeing experience - e.g., pain assessment and modeling (nociceptive signals, stress/anxiety detection), or collaboration with clinical partners.

+ Olfaction & gas sensing - e.g., experience with electronic noses, breath analysis, or volatile organic compound sensing.

**Situated Interaction sub-area** :

+ Demonstrated experience in programming multimodal systems that interact with real human users, e.g., robots or virtual agents, particularly by integrating multiple machine-learned components such as computer vision, speech recognition, dialogue handling, natural language generation, etc.

+ Demonstrated experience in conducting research outside of a controlled lab environment, e.g., field research, ethnography, in-the-wild studies, etc.

Conversational AI Agents sub-area:

+ Experience prototyping real-time conversational AI agents using tools such as the OpenAI Realtime API, including function calling, and supporting interactions via text, voice, and other interfaces.

+ Designed, implemented, and evaluated different personality styles for AI agents, varying factors such as communication style, voice characteristics, and emotional tone to study their impact on user experience, engagement, and trust.

+ Incorporated multimodal sensory inputs (e.g., text, audio, contextual signals) to enhance interaction quality and make agent responses more adaptive and context aware.

**Ambient Intelligence sub-area** :

+ Leveraging the latest in AI techniques to perform sensing in the real world

+ Working with multimodal AI models

You can upload documents by going to your profile on the career site and clicking on the **Resume Manager** tab in the top right of the page, and from there selecting **Other Documents.**

If you are having trouble submitting your application, please go to the bottom of the page and click "Support" and fill out the requested information.

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: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-intern-pay

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. (https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/accessibility.html)