Research Software Intern

Introduction

IBM India, established in 1992, delivers solutions and services across major industries including financial services, healthcare, government, automotive, telecommunications, and education. As a trusted partner, IBM helps clients transform and succeed in challenging circumstances. The diverse and extensive IBM portfolio, encompassing research, consulting, solutions, services, systems, and software, uniquely positions IBM India within the industry.

About the Internship Program

IBM Research - India and IBM Software Innovation Lab - India invite applications for their Summer Internship Programs. These programs are offered at their locations in Gurgaon and Bangalore.

IBM Research focuses on Quantum Computing and associated topics in Computer Science, Mathematical Sciences, and AI. The IBM Software Innovation Lab focuses on next-generation data systems, agents, and automation, driving these innovations into IBM's Software product portfolio.

The Summer Internship Program is a key initiative under the University Relation Program, designed to offer bright students from leading technical universities in India valuable industry experience and exposure to world-class technologies. Interns will work on current projects within the labs, solving problems under the guidance of mentors. The program aims to provide practical industry experience and identify potential future employees.

Your Role and Responsibilities

As an Intern, you will be a talented and highly motivated scientist/engineer contributing to research and development efforts across multiple frontiers of AI, Data, and Quantum Computing. You will work on innovation projects grounded in real-world datasets, environments, and problems, while also pushing the state-of-the-art in agentic AI technology with a specific focus on enterprise applications.

Specific Areas of Research and Development include:

• AI & Data: AI for IT automation, intersection of data and AI, agentic middleware and models, embedding and AI-based retrieval, time series foundation models, multi-modal foundation models, and AI for software engineering.
• Quantum Algorithms: Theoretical foundations in quantum computing, developing algorithms like QAOA and sampling-based diagonalization that demonstrate scalable performance on current IBM Quantum hardware.
• AI: Building and scaling large language models, agentic systems utilizing small language models, auto evolution of agents (including testing and debugging), software stack for AI Accelerator cards, intersection of data and AI, and programmable language models.

Eligibility Criteria

• Required Education: Bachelor's Degree (B.E. / B.Tech), Master's Degree (M.E. / M.Tech, including Dual Degree programs), or Ph.D.
• Academic Performance: Minimum 70% or 7.0 CGPA and above in the pursuing degree.
• Experience: 0 years of experience (Freshers/Students Eligible).
• Time Duration: The internship will be conducted between May and August 2027, for a maximum duration of 3 months.
• Preference: Research students, especially senior PhDs, and individuals with strong prior experience in large-scale algorithm demonstrations on quantum computers are encouraged to apply.

Required Technical and Professional Expertise

For Software Innovation Lab Intern - AI & Data

• Excellent coding skills in Python (including Pandas, NumPy)
• Strong grasp of Data Structures, Algorithms, Problem Solving
• Solid foundation in Linear Algebra, Probability, and Statistics
• Hands-on experience with VS Code, Jupyter Notebooks, Git
• AI/ML Fundamentals: supervised & unsupervised learning, classification, regression, neural networks, clustering
• Learning fundamentals and Data Manipulation/Analysis for large datasets
• Proficiency in AI libraries/frameworks: TensorFlow, PyTorch
• Experience in Deep Learning, Foundation Models, Large Language Models
• Familiarity with Generative AI frameworks such as Langchain and Crew.ai
• Expertise in unstructured data processing.

For Research Intern - Quantum Algorithms

• Theoretical foundations in quantum computing, including algorithms like QAOA and sampling-based diagonalization with scalable demonstrations on current quantum computers.
• Strong coding skills in Qiskit.
• Ability to read research papers on quantum algorithms and applications and implement their methodology.

For Research Intern - AI

• Strong programming fundamentals in Python.
• Solid understanding of Machine Learning and Deep Learning.
• Familiarity with Large Language Models, Generative AI, Transformers, and NLP.
• Hands-on experience with VS Code, Jupyter Notebooks, Git.
• Exposure to AI Accelerator software stack.
• Proficiency in AI libraries/frameworks: PyTorch.
• Exposure to AI Agents, tool use, function calling, reasoning models.
• Familiarity with techniques such as LoRA/PEFT, knowledge distillation, reinforcement learning, or RLHF/RLAIF is desirable.
• Ability to read, understand, and critically analyze research papers; experience implementing ideas from research papers is highly desirable.
• Ability to reproduce research results and design-controlled experiments.

Preferred Technical and Professional Experience

For Software Innovation Lab Intern - AI & Data

• Experience working with platforms such as Watsonx.ai or similar.
• Familiarity with risks associated with AI deployments, including agents going rogue.

For Research Intern - Quantum Algorithms

• Understanding of classical domain background relevant to quantum applications (e.g., tensor networks, classical optimization, computational chemistry, classical machine learning).
• Knowledge of quantum circuit optimization and error mitigation algorithms, and their implementations on Qiskit.
• Standard coding skills in Java/Python (including pandas, NumPy), Data Structures, Algorithms, Problem Solving, linear algebra, probability, statistics; experience with VS Code, Jupyter notebooks, Git.

For Research Intern - AI

• Exposure to popular RL libraries and hands-on experience with RL training.
• Familiarity with concepts in linear algebra, probability, statistics, and fundamentals of LLM models.
• Experience with Git, Containerization (Docker/Kubernetes/Openshift), Triton, and Hugging Face.
• Exposure to AI Accelerator software stack, AI Accelerator architectures, NCCL, and compilers.

Your Life @ IBM

At IBM, dedication to client success, innovation, and trust, coupled with personal responsibility, defines us. Being an IBMer means continuous learning and career development, encouragement for courage and experimentation, and support in an inclusive environment. IBMers are growth-minded, curious, open to feedback, and collaborative, striving for exceptional outcomes. They make critical decisions, embrace challenges, and maintain an outcome-focused approach. IBM believes that through intelligence, reason, and science, it can improve business, society, and the human condition, leveraging an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy for clients globally. Reinventing since 1911, IBM is a leader in technology and consulting, an early adopter of AI, quantum computing, and blockchain, committed to being a responsible innovator and a force for good.

IBM is an equal-opportunity employer, committed to diversity and inclusion without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other protected characteristics. IBM also complies with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.