Machine Learning Intern

Epic Games; Manchester; On-site; GBP 15,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

Epic Games seeks a PhD-level ML researcher for paid internships focused on cutting-edge machine learning across vision, language, and gameplay.

You will collaborate with research scientists and engineers to build state-of-the-art models that power Unreal Engine and related tools, driving innovation in real-time graphics and AI-assisted game development.

Qualifications

• PhD ongoing or completed within 12 months in Computer Science, Mathematics, AI or related field.
• Publications in top conferences/journals are required.
• Experience implementing deep learning algorithms for CV/NLP/ASR problems.
• Hands-on knowledge of state-of-the-art ML methods (e.g., Transformers, diffusion, RL).
• Experience with post-training foundation models (SFT, RLHF).
• Excellent coding and experimental programming skills with modern AI tools.
• Desirable: game development experience in C++ or C#.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with research scientists to develop ML models across vision, language, speech and game development.
• Create state-of-the-art ML models and evaluate them in Epic's Unreal Engine ecosystem.
• Contribute to research topics including vision-language-action, game-state agents, and embodied agents.

Skills

PhD in CS/AI

Publications

DL implementation

Transformers

Diffusion models

Reinforcement learning

Foundation models

Coding skills

C++/C# (desirable)

Education

PhD in Computer Science/AI

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

HuggingFace

Job description

WHAT MAKES US EPIC?

At the core of Epic’s success are talented, passionate people. Epic prides itself on creating a collaborative, welcoming, and creative environment. Whether it’s building award-winning games or crafting engine technology that enables others to make visually stunning interactive experiences, we’re always innovating.

Being Epic means being a part of a team that continually strives to do right by our community and users. We’re constantly innovating to raise the bar of engine and game development.

PROGRAMMING - SPECIAL PROJECTS

What We Do

The Special Projects team at Epic is responsible for executing high-impact projects that push the envelope to define the future of real-time graphics and gaming technology (The Matrix Awakens, Lumen in the Land of Nanite). In collaboration with the Unreal Engine team, we strive to put our technology and knowledge into the hands of users, empowering developers and content creators with the most powerful suite of real-time tools in the world.

MACHINE LEARNING RESEARCH INTERNSHIP AT EPIC GAMES

What You'll Do

Epic Games is looking for current PhD students and recent PhD graduates (within 12 months of graduation) for paid research internships, working on state-of-the art across our ecosystem. Epic makes Unreal Engine, which powers creative work across many industries, alongside some of the world's most popular games, including Fortnite and Rocket League. Through these products, ML research at Epic reaches millions of creators and players every day. AI is reshaping the games industry, and Epic Research – led by Lucia Specia and Michael Black – is at the center of that shift. We’re looking for talented interns who want to be part of it.

In this role, you will

Work with our team of research scientists and programmers at the intersection of vision, language, speech processing, embodied agents, and game development to create state-of-the art machine learning models in a range of areas – research topics of interest include:

• AI-backed interactive characters: LLMs for conversational characters, memory systems, automated evals, animation, etc.
• Game agents: vision-language-action, game-state agents, etc.
• 3D human and object tracking
• Reinforcement learning for embodied behavior
• Speech systems and conversational agents
• World building and game logic generation: video models, 2D->3D scene building, etc.
• AI-assisted game development, e.g. the next generation of Epic Developer Assistant for UE and UEFN
• Embodied and physical intelligence including human-object interaction
• Multi-modal diffusion models
• Player safety: AI-alignment, content moderation, etc.
• Improved user experience: personalised game recommendation, game representation, spam detection, etc.
• Content localization: (multimodal) translation, quality assurance, etc.
• Model distillation for realtime performance

What we’re looking for

• An ongoing or recently completed (within the last 12 months) PhD in Computer Science, Mathematics, AI or a related field
• A record of publication in top conferences/journals
• Experience implementing deep learning algorithms for problems in computer vision, natural language processing, or speech/audio processing
• Hands-on knowledge of state-of-the-art ML methods, such as Transformers, diffusion models, and reinforcement learning
• Experience with post-training foundation models, including SFT, preference training, and reinforcement learning
• Excellent coding and experimental programming skills, including effective use of modern AI development tools
• Desirable: game development experience in either C++ or C#

Internship Details

• Duration: 5-12 months initially (depending on your location), with flexible start-dates throughout 2026/2027
• Hours: full-time (40 hours/week) or part-time (20 hours/week)
• Location: Select regions within the UK, US or Canada
• Employment Authorization: You must hold an existing right to work in the UK, US or Canada for the full duration of the internship – Visa sponsorship or support is unavailable for this role
• Publishing: Research by Epic interns is regularly published in top-tier conferences

This internship has a flexible start date in 2026/2027. Recruitment will be ongoing until teams find an ideal match. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the posting location for the duration of the internship. For more information about Epic’s Early Career Program, visit epicgames.com/earlycareers. This is going to be Epic!

ABOUT US

Epic Games is a leading interactive entertainment company. For over 30 years we've been making award-winning games and engine technology that empowers others to make visually stunning games and 3D content that bring environments to life like never before. Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine technology not only provides game developers the ability to build high-fidelity, interactive experiences for PC, console, mobile, and VR, it is also a tool being embraced by content creators across a variety of industries such as media and entertainment, automotive, and architectural design. As we continue to build our Engine technology and develop remarkable games, we strive to build teams of world-class talent.

Like what you hear? Come be a part of something Epic!

Epic Games deeply values diverse teams and an inclusive work culture, and we are proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. Learn more about our Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy here.

Note to Recruitment Agencies: Epic does not accept any unsolicited resumes or approaches from any unauthorized third party (including recruitment or placement agencies) (i.e., a third party with whom we do not have a negotiated and validly executed agreement). We will not pay any fees to any unauthorized third party. Further details on these matters can be found here.