Machine Learning Research Intern

About the role

Epic Research, which works on machine learning, AI, character animation and digital humans, is looking for current PhD students and recent PhD graduates (within 12 months of graduation) for paid research internships. The work sits at the intersection of vision, language, speech processing, embodied agents and game development, and research topics include AI-backed interactive characters, game agents, 3D human and object tracking, reinforcement learning, speech systems, model distillation and player safety. The internship lasts 5-12 months depending on location, is full-time (40 hours/week) or part-time (20 hours/week), and starts flexibly throughout 2026/2027.

Key responsibilities

• Work with research scientists and engineers to build state-of-the-art machine learning models
• Explore topics such as LLMs for conversational characters, game agents, 3D human/object tracking, reinforcement learning, speech systems, game logic generation, embodied intelligence, multi-modal diffusion models, player safety, personalisation, content localisation and model distillation
• Publish research in top-tier conferences

Required profile

• Ongoing or recently completed PhD (within the last 12 months) in Computer Science, Mathematics, AI or a related field
• Publication record in top conferences or journals
• Existing right to work in the posting location for the full duration of the internship; visa sponsorship is not available

Required skills

• Experience implementing deep learning algorithms for computer vision, NLP or speech/audio processing
• Knowledge of Transformers, diffusion models and reinforcement learning
• Experience with post-training foundation models (SFT, preference training)
• Excellent AI coding and experimental engineering skills
• Desirable: game development experience in C++ or C#