Research Intern - AI-Assisted Game Creation

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 Speaking the World into Existence research effort aims to apply the recent progress in large language models (LLMs) to prompt-based creation of interactive 3D scenes. Integrating LLMs with a game engine should enable not only faster development of 3D content in various domains, such as gaming, mixed reality applications or animated films, but also allow for spontaneous user-generated content in the course of an interactive experience.

For this project, we aim to build a tool for rapid prototyping of games, by employing generative AI to transmute natural language exchanges among a group of designers into playable content. We are in particular interested in utilizing a variety of large AI models to allow self-improving generation of game level layouts. While the primary target of this project is the creation of a prototyping tool, we expect that these techniques could be applied to the whole pipeline of creating interactive 3D content.

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.

For this Research Internship (summer 2025), we are seeking a PhD student with a similar passion for research on applications of the newest generative AI models to creative domains, with particular interest in gaming. The Research Intern's responsibilities will include (1) helping to develop a research tool for rapid game prototyping integrating large multimodal models within a rendering engine, (2) building compelling scenarios exploring the various potential uses of this new technology.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science or a related STEM field. Exceptional candidates enrolled in a master’s program might also be considered.
• At least 2 years of research experience, including peer-reviewed publications, researching a topic closely related to the above description, such as AI systems for gaming, natural language processing, deep learning, generative models, mixed and virtual reality, multimodal interaction, etc.
• At least 1 year of experience in building applications with the help of game engines.

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 in differentiable rendering techniques, particularly in differentiable layouts of multiple assets.
• Experience in applying multimodal machine learning in a real interactive system.
• Experience programming multimodal systems that interact with users, particularly by integrating multiple machine-learned components such as computer vision, speech recognition, dialogue handling, natural language generation, etc.
• Experience in UI design.
• Experience in Unreal engine, particularly in live-coding and/or using a JS backend.
• Experience in using other game-dev tools such as Houdini or Blender.
• Demonstrated ability to develop original research agendas.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with other researchers and product development teams.
• Proficient interpersonal skills, cross-group, and cross-culture collaboration.
• Ability to think unconventionally to derive creative and innovative solutions. 

Applied Sciences IC2 : The base pay range for this internship is USD $5,460 -$10,680 per month.

There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, with the San Francisco Bay area and New York City Metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $7,040 -$11,640 per month.

Applied Sciences IC3 : 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.