Research Intern - Neural Rendering & Character AI (Applied Science)

Job Description:

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 Applied Sciences group in the Windows organization to push the frontier of neural rendering and generative 3D/4D for digital humans and interactive characters. We explore image-to-3D, Gaussian splatting, neural/implicit scene representations, diffusion-based 3D and 4D generation, speech-/text-driven facial animation, and controllable character behaviors. Projects span high-fidelity offline research to efficiency-minded prototypes, with an emphasis on scientific rigor, reproducibility, and user-centric evaluation.

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 original research and build prototypes in areas such as:
* Neural rendering & scene representations (radiance fields, Gaussian splats, hybrid implicit/explicit models, dynamic/deformable fields).
* Generative 3D/4D (image-/video-/text-conditioned 3D generation, diffusion/score-based methods, consistency & editability).
* Digital human & facial animation (speech-/audio-driven animation, identity/expression control, temporal coherence).
* Interactive character intelligence (learned controllers, multimodal conditioning, behavior/style control).
Design datasets and evaluation protocols; perform ablations and benchmark against public and internally curated evaluations.
Optimize for fidelity, robustness, or efficiency depending on project goals (e.g., high-quality offline pipelines or compact interactive models).
Communicate results via talks, internal tech reports, and-when appropriate-submissions to top venues

Candidate Requirements:

Required Qualifications

* Currently enrolled in a Master's or Ph.D. program in CS, EE, Applied Math, or related field with a focus in vision/graphics/ML.
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

* Hands-on experience with deep learning (e.g., PyTorch); familiarity with diffusion/transformers and training pipelines.
* Proficient programming skills (Python and/or C++) and clear technical communication.
* Publications in CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, SIGGRAPH, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, 3DV, AAAI, IJCAI, or journals (e.g., IJCV, IEEE/ACM Transactions).
* Depth in one or more: neural rendering, Gaussian splatting, NeRF-style models & variants, generative 3D/4D (diffusion), speech-/text-conditioned animation, character control/behavior modeling, multimodal learning, 3D consistency & evaluation.
* Experience with scalable training, dataset curation, and evaluation; efficiency techniques (distillation/quantization) are a plus.

Applied Sciences IC2 - The base pay range for this internship is USD $5,610 - $11,010 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 $7,270 - $12,030 per month.

Applied Sciences IC3 - The base pay range for this internship is USD $6,710 - $13,270 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).

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