Software and Hardware Development Internships

An Opportunity to Rise and Shine
Our interns make a real difference. Not by filing paperwork or running errands, but by developing real products. Here, you’ll get started right away, running your own projects and putting your own skills to work. This is why our internship program is one of the most successful and sought after in the industry. Because you’ll learn more in 12 weeks here than you would in a whole school year. It’s the kind of work that gets noticed by millions of people all over the world. Kind of redefines the whole concept of internships, don’t you think?

““An internship allowed me to identify areas in which I needed to grow and helped to validate that I am working in the right field.” - John, Software Development Lead, Windows Server Performance

As an intern, you’ll work just as a full-time employee, and you’ll receive benefits. Consult the Intern Program FAQ for more information.

Choosing Your Internship
Not sure which internship you’d like? Start by checking out a couple MSDN product development cycle examples to get an idea where your contributions could make the most difference: Security Development Lifecycle and Developing for the Enterprise.

Some of our Software and Hardware Development internship positions include:

Program Manager
Software Development Engineer
Software Development Engineer in Test
Hardware Design Engineer Internships

Program Manager (PM)

Develop the Vision, and Deliver the Goods
As a Program Manager intern, you’ll get to help drive the technical vision, design and implementation of next-generation software solutions. You’ll transform the product vision into elegant designs that will ultimately turn into products used by Microsoft customers. The PM intern helps manage feature sets throughout the product lifecycle, and you’ll have the chance to see your design through to completion. You’ll also work directly with other key team members including Software Development Engineers and Software Development Engineers in Test. Program Managers are advocates for end-users, so your passion for anticipating customer needs and creating outside-the-box solutions for them will really help you shine in this role.

Qualifications:

•	Pursuing a BS/MS or PhD degree in Engineering, Computer Science or related field
•	1-2 years experience programming in C++, Java or other computer programming languages preferred
•	Familiarity with managing complex project schedules, solving complex problems, and nurturing cross-group collaboration
•	Strong technical prowess, including understanding of algorithms, systems architecture, and end-user experience

Software Development Engineer (SDE)

Work at the Core of Every Product We Build
This internship is where the fun begins for code gurus like you. As a hands-on Software Development Engineer intern, you’ll learn how to make decisions about design and feature implementation, using your mastery of technical tools to help make a product vision a reality. If you would like to write code and design efficient data structures and algorithms to develop next-generation applications or operating systems, listen up. This internship shows you how SDEs bring products to life by working with Program Managers to ensure strong design and Software Development Engineers in Test to ensure quality through testing. Ultimately for the SDE, it’s your code that turns concepts into new technologies and services.

Qualifications:

•	Pursuing a BS/MS or PhD degree in Engineering, Computer Science or related field
•	1-2 years experience programming in C/C++/C#, Java and/or other computer programming languages preferred
•	Ability to derive creative and innovative solutions by thinking "outside the box"
•	Expertise in feature definition, design, and feasibility
•	Demonstrated skill in estimating development time

Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)

Discover Life on the Last Line of Defense
As an intern Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET), you’ll own it, break it, fix it, and own it again. You’ll ensure a product’s quality by making sure it performs as users expect it to. Part of the fun is how creative you can be devising ways to manipulate, crush, and sabotage software into submission—while creating innovative testing technologies along the way.
Ultimately, as an SDET intern it’s your input that can help make the difference between joy and frustration for the customers. Since you’re keen on how things work, and making them work better, you’ll work hand in hand with the Program Managers and Software Development Engineers to design, develop, and maintain automation systems for use in development and testing cycles. Using the tools you create, you’ll help pour over source code for trouble spots, debugging and isolating problems, and executing creative tests to find new bugs while regression testing recent fixes.

Qualifications:

•	Pursuing a BS/MS or PhD degree in Engineering, Computer Science or related field
•	1-2 years experience in C/C++/C#/VB.NET and experience designing and developing tool architecture preferred
•	Ability to solve complex problems and write automation systems and device drivers
•	Ability to author test plans and cases, conduct security and stress tests, and debug at source level after identifying, investigating, and prioritizing bugs
•	Demonstrated skills in negotiation and conflict management

Hardware Design Engineer Internships

As a Hardware Engineer intern you will design and drive the development of fundamentals around a well-defined nucleus of user needs, tasks, and business goals. You’ll design for a wide range of user behaviors and interaction models for both near and long term products and develop prototypes for diverse projects including mice, keyboards, remote controls and other peripherals while working with a variety of emerging technologies such as touch, speech, and gesture. You will work hand in hand with industrial designers, user researchers, marketing, software development and hardware engineering professionals in a highly collaborative environment.

Qualifications:

•	Pursuing a BS/MS or PhD degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineer or related field
•	Ability to drive collaborative efforts effectively across multiple disciplines
•	1-2 years internship or classroom experience in product development preferred
•	Ability to think strategically, be creative and be able to innovate ways to communicate and visualize user experiences
•	Demonstrated strong attention to detail and results-driven