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. 

Gray Systems Lab (GSL) is an applied research lab under Azure Data. We do research and development for databases, big-data, and cloud systems and work in close collaboration with product teams to design innovative solutions for real-world problems. Our inclusive and welcoming team currently has focus areas in topics such as query optimization and execution, large and small language models, agents and agentic workflows, machine learning for systems, systems for machine learning, data science, resource management, storage systems, modern/future hardware (e.g. Non-volatile memory (NVM) and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), program analysis, cross system optimization, and data provenance, all centered around both internal and open-source systems such as Spark, Structured Query Language (SQL) Server, MySQL, Hadoop, MLFlow, Open Neural Network Exchange (ONNX), and others. There are opportunities to work on ideas from internal, as well as external, collaborations with partner universities and to continue to be an active scholar in the research community. 

The GSL team is looking for Research Interns who are interested in cutting edge research in close collaboration with advanced industry product groups. Past Research Internships have resulted in a combination of impact on production systems and publications at top conferences. Applicants should demonstrate a track record in one or more systems or data science topics and an aptitude for hands-on system building and design methodology to run and analyze experiments at scale. 

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond. We are open to all individuals and thrive on an inclusive environment and work culture. Neurodivergent individuals are encouraged to apply.