PhD AI/ML Research Engineer Intern

Activision · Stockholm

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Job Description:

AI/ML Research Engineer Internship - 2027

About AI Labs at King’s AI Center of Excellence:

Join AI Labs, an applied research team within King’s AI Center of Excellence, where innovation and collaboration come together to tackle complex modeling challenges and explore the latest advances in machine learning. At AI Labs, we help unlock business value through impactful research and the development of state-of-the-art solutions. Our work spans automation at scale for game levels, player experience optimization, AI trustworthiness, and the exploration of emerging technologies. Working alongside Research Engineers, ML Engineers, and Data Scientists, you will contribute to long-term research initiatives and play an important role in advancing King’s central machine learning capabilities.

The Opportunity:

For this internship cycle, we are looking for a motivated Research Engineer Intern with a strong interest in one of the following research themes:

• World Models for Gameplay and Simulation: Investigate scalable world models that learn predictive representations and dynamics from gameplay data to support simulation, planning, and downstream decision-making. Familiarity with generative modeling, latent dynamics models, model-based reinforcement learning, and self-supervised learning is desirable. Particular interest will be given to approaches that improve generalization, sample efficiency, and long-horizon prediction.
• Reinforcement Learning for Gameplay: Apply advanced Reinforcement Learning (RL) techniques to enhance playtesting and support the creation of more engaging player experiences. Candidates with a strong background in RL and hands-on experience with modern online and offline RL algorithms, particularly in transfer learning and robust policy generalization, are encouraged to apply. Experience with unsupervised RL, exploration and intrinsic motivation, or related approaches is highly desirable.
• Understanding User Behavior in Games: Leverage quantitative and qualitative methods, together with multi-modal data, to deepen our understanding of player strategies, behaviors, and skill progression. Experience combining behavioral analytics with advanced machine learning techniques to identify meaningful patterns in behavioral data will be highly valuable.

This is a fixed-term internship of six months, offering the opportunity to work on cutting-edge machine learning research that contributes directly to game content and player experiences. You will gain hands-on experience in a fast-paced environment, developing solutions with real-world impact across our products and services. The role is based in our Stockholm office and is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with researchers and engineers on projects aligned with your area of interest and expertise.
• Participate in the full research lifecycle, from problem definition and methodology exploration to implementation, experimentation, and evaluation.
• Document research outcomes and communicate progress and findings to team members and relevant stakeholders.

Who You Are:

• Currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a related field. Recent graduates with relevant backgrounds are also welcome to apply.
• Strong foundation in machine learning, data science, and algorithm development.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively.
• Knowledge of, or prior experience with, the research topic and methodologies relevant to the selected theme is preferred.
• Proficient in Python and experienced with machine learning libraries and frameworks.
• Hold valid authorization to work in Sweden from January 2027 onward.

How to Apply:

To apply for the Research Engineer Intern position at AI Labs within King’s AI Center of Excellence, please submit: 1) your CV, and 2) a cover letter outlining:

• Your interest in the role.
• Your preferred research theme.
• Relevant experience, including links to projects, publications, or other work where applicable.
• Contact details for your academic supervisor.

Please ensure that all application materials are submitted before the application deadline. We look forward to hearing from you.

About King

With a mission of Making the World Playful, King is a leading interactive entertainment company for the mobile world with more than 20 years of history of delivering some of the world’s most iconic games in the mobile gaming industry, including the world-famous Candy Crush franchise, as well as other mobile titles such as Farm Heroes Saga. Around 200 million people play a King game every month. King, part of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), has Kingsters in Stockholm, Malmö, London, Barcelona, Berlin, Dublin, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Malta. More information can be found at King.com or by following us on LinkedIn and @lifeatking on Instagram.

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