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. Our researchers and engineers 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.

This position is for a research internship with the EPIC (Extended Perception, Interaction & Cognition) research group in Microsoft Research’s Redmond Lab.

EPIC conducts fundamental research that innovates at the nexus of hardware, software, and human potential. We are an interdisciplinary group of researchers, engineers, scientists, and designers at Microsoft Research who study Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) through prototyping, system-building, design sketching, and observational study of human behavior.

We explore these topics with an inquisitive, curiosity-driven mindset that values diverse and inclusive perspectives, interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary backgrounds, and that otherwise respects the many ways-of-knowing that characterize a multi-disciplinary field like HCI.

Sought-after skills and topics of interest for internships this year include (but are certainly not limited to):

• Technical HCI & Systems: hands-on builders of interesting HCI systems, techniques, and toolkits are always of interest to EPIC, especially when coupled with skills for qualitative analyses and ethnographic methods, experimental analysis, design sketching, and/or design as a discipline of choice.
• Mixed Reality: virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (VR / AR / MR); spatial sensing, projection, and interaction; blending physical and virtual spaces; productivity in mixed reality; collaborative virtual and hybrid spaces.
• Multi-Screen, Multi-Device: cross-device interaction in a “Society of Devices”; interactive distributed systems; ubicomp; sensing and interaction modalities that span devices (e.g., speech, touch, in-air gesture, proximity, and pen); device ecologies spanning mobiles, slates, large displays, and other form-factors.
• Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW): Remote and hybrid work; telepresence; co-located collaboration; social theory and proxemics; collaboration tools, spaces, and techniques.
• Hardware and Devices: sensors, actuators, displays, and robotics; novel device form-factors; embedded interactive device hardware and firmware; hardware design, prototyping, and fabrication.
• Input Technologies and Techniques. Natural multi-modal interaction via ink, touch, voice, hand gesture, and device tilt/motion in scenarios such as document annotation, sketching, whiteboarding, remote/hybrid collaboration, or active reading and note-taking.
• Accessibility & Inclusive Design: accessibility; accessible information visualization; inclusive design; designing for diverse populations and diverse needs.
  

We value your ideas and unique viewpoints on these topics, as well, and indeed hope that our partnership and collaboration will shape initial directions into exciting, ambitious, and impactful research contributions that only you could have crafted.

You can learn more about the EPIC’s research agenda, publications, videos, and team members at http://aka.ms/epic-research.

Responsibilities

Interns put inquiry and theory into practice. Alongside fellow doctoral candidates and some of the world’s best researchers, interns learn, collaborate, and network for life. Interns not only advance their own careers, but they also contribute to exciting research and development strides. During the 12-week internship, students are paired with mentors and expected to collaborate with other 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.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

In addition to the qualifications below, you’ll need to submit a minimum of two reference letters for this position. 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.

• Must be accepted, applying to, or currently enrolled in a PhD program relevant to Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related STEM field (with a 6-month grace period either way; for example, you are eligible if you finished your PhD within six months of beginning your internship (approximately May/June 2021); or, if you are nearing the end of your M.S. in a relevant field and are currently applying to Ph.D. programs, with anticipated acceptance within 6 months).
  

Interns are expected to be physically located in their manager’s Microsoft worksite location for the duration of their internship.

Preferred Qualifications

• Applicants may be preferred who can demonstrate at least 1 year experience conducting original research in (or closely related to) Human-Computer Interaction, and further be able to document their research contributions with publicly available resources (e.g., by linking to papers, pre-prints, videos, demonstrations, repositories, articles, press coverage, or research proposals in your submitted CV).
  

The base pay range for this internship is USD $5,090 - $10,120 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 $6,690 - $11,030 per month.

Benefits/perks listed here may vary depending on the nature of employment with Microsoft and the country work location. U.S.-based interns have access to medical and vision insurance, paid sick time (accrued at 3.34 hours per pay period worked), paid federal holidays, and software discounts. Puget Sound-based interns gain access to a bus pass and a fitness club membership.

Our Commitment to Pay Equity

We are committed to the principle of pay equity – paying employees equitably for substantially similar work. To learn more about pay equity and our other commitments to increase representation and strengthen our culture of inclusion, check out our annual Diversity & Inclusion Report.

( https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/diversity/inside-microsoft/annual-report )

Understanding Roles at Microsoft

The top of this page displays the role for which the base pay ranges apply – Applied Sciences IC2.

The way we define roles includes two things: discipline (the type of work) and career stage (scope and complexity). The career stage has two parts – the first identifies whether the role is a manager (M), an individual contributor (IC), an admin-technician-retail (ATR) job, or an intern. The second part identifies the relative seniority of the role – a higher number (or later letter alphabetically in the case of ATR) indicates greater scope and complexity.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with applicable law, 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 and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.