PhD Systems & AI/ML Research Intern (Summer 2026)

<h2 class="p1"><span class="s1">Role Description</span></h2> <p><span class=" author-d-iz88z86z86za0dz67zz78zz78zz74zz68zjz80zz71z9iz90z95be4z82zez76z4mvz77zz78zz81zz79zv3z70zz72zz68zuz89zz66zrz88zz76zv2z83zz77zz122z">Dropbox powers collaboration and cloud infrastructure for over 700 million registered users</span><span class=" author-d-iz88z86z86za0dz67zz78zz78zz74zz68zjz80zz71z9iz90z95be4z82zez76z4mvz77zz78zz81zz79zv3z70zz72zz68zuz89zz66zrz88zz76zv2z83zz77zz122z"><strong> </strong></span><span class=" author-d-iz88z86z86za0dz67zz78zz78zz74zz68zjz80zz71z9iz90z95be4z82zez76z4mvz77zz78zz81zz79zv3z70zz72zz68zuz89zz66zrz88zz76zv2z83zz77zz122z">worldwide. We’re building the next generation of scalable storage, distributed compute, </span><span class=" author-d-1gg9uz65z1iz85zgdz68zmqkz84zo2qotvez67zz84zgvz75ztjz67zz70z61jz73zaz73zz70ztz74zz65z59z79zz71zz67zocn6k">large-scale content processing</span><span class=" author-d-iz88z86z86za0dz67zz78zz78zz74zz68zjz80zz71z9iz90z95be4z82zez76z4mvz77zz78zz81zz79zv3z70zz72zz68zuz89zz66zrz88zz76zv2z83zz77zz122z">, and secure infrastructure, with AI/ML workloads top-of-mind.</span></p> <p><span class=" author-d-iz88z86z86za0dz67zz78zz78zz74zz68zjz80zz71z9iz90z95be4z82zez76z4mvz77zz78zz81zz79zv3z70zz72zz68zuz89zz66zrz88zz76zv2z83zz77zz122z">As a PhD Systems AI/ML Research Intern, you’ll work on meaningful infrastructure problems at the intersection of distributed systems, backend services, and AI/ML workloads. Supported by senior engineers, you’ll own a project aligned with your research, that results in a working prototype with the goal of a submission for adoption internally and external publication. Come help us define and build the infra layer for our next-gen products.</span></p> <h2 class="p1"><span class="s1">Responsibilities</span></h2> <ul> <li><span class=" author-d-iz88z86z86za0dz67zz78zz78zz74zz68zjz80zz71z9iz90z95be4z82zez76z4mvz77zz78zz81zz79zv3z70zz72zz68zuz89zz66zrz88zz76zv2z83zz77zz122z">Execute a defined engineering/research project aligned with your research.</span></li> <li><span class=" author-d-iz88z86z86za0dz67zz78zz78zz74zz68zjz80zz71z9iz90z95be4z82zez76z4mvz77zz78zz81zz79zv3z70zz72zz68zuz89zz66zrz88zz76zv2z83zz77zz122z">Implement a prototype that addresses a concrete infra</span><span class=" author-d-1gg9uz65z1iz85zgdz68zmqkz84zo2qotvez67zz84zgvz75ztjz67zz70z61jz73zaz73zz70ztz74zz65z59z79zz71zz67zocn6k">structure</span><span class=" author-d-iz88z86z86za0dz67zz78zz78zz74zz68zjz80zz71z9iz90z95be4z82zez76z4mvz77zz78zz81zz79zv3z70zz72zz68zuz89zz66zrz88zz76zv2z83zz77zz122z"> or AI-systems challenge.</span></li> <li><span class=" author-d-iz88z86z86za0dz67zz78zz78zz74zz68zjz80zz71z9iz90z95be4z82zez76z4mvz77zz78zz81zz79zv3z70zz72zz68zuz89zz66zrz88zz76zv2z83zz77zz122z">Build and run benchmarks using realistic workloads to measure performance, reliability, or security improvements.</span></li> <li><span class=" author-d-iz88z86z86za0dz67zz78zz78zz74zz68zjz80zz71z9iz90z95be4z82zez76z4mvz77zz78zz81zz79zv3z70zz72zz68zuz89zz66zrz88zz76zv2z83zz77zz122z">Document the design and implementation, including assumptions, architecture, tradeoffs, and evaluation results.</span></li> <li><span class=" author-d-iz88z86z86za0dz67zz78zz78zz74zz68zjz80zz71z9iz90z95be4z82zez76z4mvz77zz78zz81zz79zv3z70zz72zz68zuz89zz66zrz88zz76zv2z83zz77zz122z">Deliver a final artifact that includes a working prototype, reproducible results, technical write-up, and internal presentation.</span></li> <li><span class=" author-d-iz88z86z86za0dz67zz78zz78zz74zz68zjz80zz71z9iz90z95be4z82zez76z4mvz77zz78zz81zz79zv3z70zz72zz68zuz89zz66zrz88zz76zv2z83zz77zz122z">Collaborate with mentors to refine the approach, validate results, and, if appropriate, prepare findings for internal adoption or external publication.</span></li> </ul> <h2 class="p1"><span class="s1">Requirements</span></h2> <ul> <li><span class=" author-d-iz88z86z86za0dz67zz78zz78zz74zz68zjz80zz71z9iz90z95be4z82zez76z4mvz77zz78zz81zz79zv3z70zz72zz68zuz89zz66zr ... (truncated, view full listing at source)