2025 Intern: Research Scientist – Human-Centered Generative AI Full-time

Your Role and Responsibilities
This is for a 2025 summer internship with the following start dates: May – August or June – September for quarter system schools.

Generative AI and foundation models have introduced a paradigm shift in how we interact with AI systems. The mission of the human-centered AI teams at IBM Research is to create trustworthy, safe, and effective user experiences with generative AI. Our research focuses on (1) user perspectives of making generative AI systems safe and trustworthy by addressing new harms and risks being introduced compared to traditional AI, and (2) on designing, building, and validating novel user experiences or visualizations with generative AI systems that address the challenges of interacting with intent-based system.

We are looking for interns with a background in HCI, Data Visualization, Interaction, Visual, and Experimental Design, or similar who can help us tackle these new challenges. Topics of interest include but are not limited to new techniques and approaches for visual data exploration & analysis, novel user interfaces and visualizations for effective large language model (LLM) prompting, trust & reliance in LLM outputs, explainability of LLMs, including source attribution & rationale generation, foundation model selection and comparison for enterprise use cases, foundation model risk assessment, governance & risk mitigation techniques, understanding synergy in human-AI collaborations, and human-centered and task-specific evaluation techniques and benchmarks.

Introduction
IBM Research Scientists are charting the future of Artificial Intelligence, creating breakthroughs in quantum computing, discovering how blockchain will reshape the enterprise, and much more. Join a team that is dedicated to applying science to some of today’s most complex challenges, whether it’s discovering a new way for doctors to help patients, teaming with environmentalists to clean up our waterways or enabling retailers to personalize customer service.

Required Technical and Professional Expertise

• Applicants should be PhD & MS students pursuing graduate studies.
• HCI, Data Visualization, Interaction, User Research, Interaction Design, Visual Design, or Experimental Design.
• Basic knowledge in Large Language Models and Generative AI.

Preferred Technical and Professional Experience

• Qualitative and quantitative user research and user-centric design.
• Programming skills in Python, Java, C++/C, etc.
  Experience publishing scientific results in technical communities such as CHI, IUI, DIS, CSCW, IEEE Vis, EuroVis, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, IJCAI, ACL, AAAI, or similar.
• Machine learning techniques and machine learning toolkits such as PyTorch, Tensorflow, scikit-learn etc. including programming on GPUs.
• Experience in web application development and frameworks including HTML, CSS and JavaScript, JQuery, React, Flask, Node.js etc.
• Backend storage technologies such as SQL and Non-SQL databases (Postgres, MongoDB, Cloudant, ElasticSearch etc.)
• Experience in Kubernetes CI/CD tools and operators, IBM Cloud and machine learning training pipelines.
• Software engineering practices including agile techniques.
• System building/debugging/testing skills.
• Solving analytical problems using rigorous and quantitative approaches.

Required Education
Bachelor’s Degree

Preferred Education
Master’s Degree

About Business Unit
IBM Research is the organic growth engine of IBM and an innovation engine for our customers and partners. As part of this mission, IBM Research anticipates and examines ‘What’s Next in Computing’ to ultimately create and integrate the technologies the world relies upon to solve big challenges and unlock new opportunities. We create and pioneer new markets for IBM, our partners and customers as exemplified in our ongoing quest to reach practical and large-scale quantum computing. Across IBM Research, we realize the power and potential to accelerate discovery with our partners and clients by combining the power of high performance computing, AI, and Quantum, all integrated through the hybrid cloud.

Wonder if IBM is the one for you?
In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.
Being an IBMer means you’ll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you’ll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.

Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.

Are you ready to be an IBMer?

About IBM
IBM’s greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.

Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we’re also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 50 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.

At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it’s time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

Other Relevant Job Details
Supplemental 1 employees may be eligible for up to 8 paid holidays, minimum of 56 hours paid sick time and the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan. IBM offers paid family medical leave and disability benefits to eligible employees where required by applicable law. The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full-time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job-related skills, experience and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start working during the calendar year. This position was posted on the date cited in the key job details section and is anticipated to remain posted for 21 days from this date or less if not needed to fill the role. We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.

Being You @ IBM
IBM is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, caste, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, veteran status, or other characteristics. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.