Research Intern - Machine Translation

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.

Join the Microsoft Translator research team in Microsoft’s Azure AI organization in an exciting opportunity to work on cutting edge problems in machine translation. Topics that you might explore include large-scale multilingual models, leveraging large language models, or human and automatic evaluation. In this position, you will conduct research under the supervision of Microsoft mentors and will have the responsibility of exploring a topic in depth, investigating a solution, and publishing your results. 

As a summer Research Intern, you will be part of a dynamic team that works on a range of topics. You will gain experience solving real-world problems, work with leading researchers in the field, and help improve the quality of Microsoft’s products. 

Required Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science or a related field. 
• At least 1 year of experience in machine translation or natural language processing with hands-on deep learning experience. 

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 algorithmic problem solving and software development skills in Python, C/C++, or others. 
• Experience with open-source machine learning tools like PyTorch or others. 
• Track record of publications in MT, NLP, or ML related conferences, for example, ACL, NAACL, EMNLP, WMT, ICML, NeurIPS, etc. 

The base pay range for this internship is USD $6,550 - $12,880 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 $8,480 - $13,920 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.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

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

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

• Conduct novel research to advance the state-of-the-art in machine translation. 
• Work with the latest tools and models in generative AI. 
• Implement and help design experiments to test hypotheses and investigate research ideas. 
• Collaborate with your mentor(s) and the team at large in day-to-day planning. 
• Regularly share results with the team, and contribute to publications and patents.