Research Intern – AI Incubation
Yesterday• Seattle, WA
What you can expect
Zoom's AI Incubation team is looking for a PhD Research Intern to dive into the next wave of LLM innovation. You will work alongside a world-class group of PhDs and applied scientists, contributing to high-impact projects in post-training, reinforcement learning (RL), and federated AI.
As an intern, you won't just be watching from the sidelines. You will own a specific research project, conduct experiments at scale, and help develop the breakthroughs that power the next generation of the Zoom AI Companion. This is a unique opportunity to see how frontier AI research is translated into a product used by millions.
About the team
The AI Incubation team is a high-impact applied research group known for building one of the industry's best-performing federated AI systems. We operate at the frontier of:
- Agentic Intelligence: Moving beyond chat to models that "do."
- Federated AI: Privacy-preserving, edge-to-cloud learning across diverse model ecosystems (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google).
- Advanced Alignment: Pushing RLHF, DPO, and RLAIF to new heights of reasoning and reliability.
Responsibilities
- Execute Research Projects: Design and implement experiments in areas like LLM fine-tuning, preference optimization (DPO/PPO), or distributed federated learning.
- Prototype & Evaluate: Build and benchmark new model architectures or training recipes to improve reasoning, personalization, and safety.
- Collaborate: Work closely with senior scientists to refine research hypotheses and troubleshoot large-scale training runs.
- Document & Present: Synthesize your findings into internal reports or potential publications, presenting your work to the broader AI organization.
- Stay Curious: Keep pace with the latest ArXiv drops and open-source developments to ensure our methods remain state-of-the-art.
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What we're looking for
PhD Candidate
- Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, or a related quantitative field.
Strong Technical Foundation
- Solid programming skills with hands-on experience in PyTorch.
- Bonus points for experience with modern LLM tooling such as Hugging Face Transformers, DeepSpeed, or FlashAttention.
Relevant Research Experience
- Experience in at least one of the following areas:
- LLM post-training, including SFT or RLHF
- Federated learning
- Multimodal modeling
- Agentic or workflow-based AI systems
Research Mindset
- Proven ability to solve open-ended research problems, demonstrated through:
- Publications at top-tier conferences (for example NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR)
- Meaningful open-source contributions
- Advanced research projects or impactful academic work
Collaboration and Communication
- Able to clearly explain complex technical ideas.
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced, iterative research environment and collaborating across teams.
Salary Range or On Target Earnings:
Minimum:
Maximum:
In addition to the base salary and/or OTE listed Zoom has a Total Direct Compensation philosophy that takes into consideration; base salary, bonus and equity value.
Note: Starting pay will be based on a number of factors and commensurate with qualifications & experience.
We also have a location based compensation structure; there may be a different range for candidates in this and other locations.
Ways of Working
Our structured hybrid approach is centered around our offices and remote work environments. The work style of each role, Hybrid, Remote, or In-Person is indicated in the job description/posting.
Benefits
As part of our award-winning workplace culture and commitment to delivering happiness, our benefits program offers a variety of perks, benefits, and options to help employees maintain their physical, mental, emotional, and financial health; support work-life balance; and contribute to their community in meaningful ways. Click Learn for more information.
About Us
Zoomies help people stay connected so they can get more done together. We set out to build the best collaboration platform for the enterprise, and today help people communicate better with products like Zoom Contact Center, Zoom Phone, Zoom Events, Zoom Apps, Zoom Rooms, and Zoom Webinars.
We're problem-solvers, working at a fast pace to design solutions with our customers and users in mind. Find room to grow with opportunities to stretch your skills and advance your career in a collaborative, growth-focused environment.
Our Commitment
At Zoom, we believe great work happens when people feel supported and empowered. We're committed to fair hiring practices that ensure every candidate is evaluated based on skills, experience, and potential. If you require an accommodation during the hiring process, let us know-we're here to support you at every step.
We welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives including qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records and any qualified applicants requiring reasonable accommodations in accordance with the law.
If you need assistance navigating the interview process due to a medical disability, please submit an Accommodations Request Form and someone from our team will reach out soon. This form is solely for applicants who require an accommodation due to a qualifying medical disability. Non-accommodation-related requests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed.
Think of this opportunity as a marathon, not a sprint! We're building a strong team at Zoom, and we're looking for talented individuals to join us for the long haul. No need to rush your application - take your time to ensure it's a good fit for your career goals. We continuously review applications, so submit yours whenever you're ready to take the next step.
Client-provided location(s): Seattle, WA
Job ID: Zoom-2f01e90d16c71da11607c843eba3ce3b
Employment Type: INTERN
Posted: 2026-02-18T19:07:28
Perks and Benefits
Health and Wellness
- Health Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Mental Health Benefits
- Life Insurance
- Short-Term Disability
- Long-Term Disability
- FSA
- HSA
- HSA With Employer Contribution
Parental Benefits
- Non-Birth Parent or Paternity Leave
- Birth Parent or Maternity Leave
- Adoption Leave
- Fertility Benefits
- Adoption Assistance Program
- Family Support Resources
Work Flexibility
- Flexible Work Hours
- Remote Work Opportunities
- Hybrid Work Opportunities
- Work-From-Home Stipend
Office Life and Perks
- Commuter Benefits Program
- Casual Dress
- Snacks
- Some Meals Provided
- On-Site Cafeteria
Vacation and Time Off
- Paid Vacation
- Paid Holidays
- Personal/Sick Days
- Unlimited Paid Time Off
- Leave of Absence
- Volunteer Time Off
Financial and Retirement
- Stock Purchase Program
- 401(K)
- 401(K) With Company Matching
- Company Equity
- Performance Bonus
- Relocation Assistance
- Financial Counseling
Professional Development
- Promote From Within
- Mentor Program
- Access to Online Courses
- Lunch and Learns
- Internship Program
- Work Visa Sponsorship
- Leadership Training Program
Diversity and Inclusion