Research Internship

Company: IBM

Location: Johannesburg, Gauteng

Job Type: Internship

Posted: 18 February 2026

About the Job

IBM Research is responsible for shaping the future of technology and its impact on society. As a Research Intern, you will join a team that invents the next generation of computing. You will work on cutting‑edge projects in generative AI, quantum machine learning, and cloud‑based workflows, contributing to both academic research and commercial products.

Responsibilities

• Develop foundation models, agentic workflows, and quantum‑ML algorithms.
• Collaborate with research scientists and engineers on industry projects.
• Participate in research meetings and discussions.
• Contribute to internal and open‑source code repositories.
• Help produce research papers, patents, and other technical outputs.

Preferred Education

Master’s Degree (or higher) in a relevant field.

Required Technical and Professional Expertise

• Currently enrolled in an M.Sc. or Ph.D. program in Computer Science, Computer & Electronics Engineering, Machine Learning, Data Science, Statistics, Quantum Computing, or a related technical field.
• Proficiency in Python and deep‑learning frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.
• Experience with additional programming languages (Java, C/C++, etc.).
• Good understanding of machine‑learning algorithms.
• Knowledge of optimization techniques.
• Strong problem‑solving and analytical skills.
• Effective communication and teamwork abilities.

Preferred Technical and Professional Experience

• Published or presented research at conferences such as NeurIPS, CVPR, ICML, ICLR, IJCAI, AAAI, KDD, or IEEE QCE.
• Solid understanding of quantum computing concepts.
• Experience with MLOps practices.

Application Deadline: Open until filled.

To apply, visit careers.ibm.com.