2026 Summer Internship, Research Scientist - PhD (New York City) at Spotify

New York, New York, United States

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Not SpecifiedCompensation

InternshipExperience Level

InternshipJob Type

UnknownVisa

Technology, Music StreamingIndustries

Requirements

Pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, Information Science, Economics, Statistics, or related areas with a strong computational focus
Strong preference for a graduation year date of 2026 or 2027
Currently have valid work authorization to work in the country in which this role is based that will extend from June to September 2026
Available from June 15th onwards for a 10 or 12 week summer internship
Publications in communities such as NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, EC, AAAI, RecSys, The Web Conference, ACL, SIGIR, WSDM, KDD, Interspeech, or related venues (preferred)
Creative problem-solver who is passionate about digging into complex problems and devising innovative ways to reach results (preferred)
Experience with the complexities of modeling and analyzing real-world data (preferred)

Responsibilities

Be part of an interdisciplinary team focused on making every user interaction with Spotify amazing through personalization and discovery, pushing innovation, and contributing to the wider research community by publishing papers
Apply scientific knowledge to application-oriented problems in artificial intelligence, economics, machine learning, search and recommendation, speech processing, and natural language processing, combining insights from your expertise with those of the diverse team
Be a valued member of an autonomous, multi-functional team working in collaboration with other scientists, engineers, product managers, designers, user researchers, and analysts across Spotify to design creative solutions to challenging problems
Help develop thoughtful, efficient, and intuitive new ways to search, explore, and discover music, podcasts, and audiobooks

Skills

Key technologies and capabilities for this role

Artificial IntelligenceMachine LearningEconomicsFoundational ModelingLLMsSearchRecommendation SystemsSpeech ProcessingNatural Language Processing

Questions & Answers

Common questions about this position

Is this internship paid?

Yes, this is a paid internship program.

Where is this internship located?

The role is based in New York City, with teams also in the US East Coast and Europe.

What qualifications are required for this Research Scientist internship?

Candidates must be pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, Information Science, Economics, Statistics, or related areas with a strong computational focus, with a strong preference for 2026 or 2027 graduation, valid work authorization, and availability from June 15th for 10-12 weeks.

What is the team environment like at Spotify for this internship?

You'll be part of an interdisciplinary, autonomous, multi-functional team working with scientists, engineers, product managers, designers, user researchers, and analysts to solve challenging problems through personalization and discovery.

What makes a strong candidate for this Spotify Research Scientist internship?

Strong candidates have publications in top conferences like NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, or related venues, are creative problem-solvers passionate about complex problems, and have experience modeling real-world data.

Spotify

Digital music streaming service with podcasts

About Spotify

Spotify provides a digital music streaming service that allows users to access millions of songs and podcasts from various artists and creators. Users can choose between a free plan, which includes advertisements, and a premium subscription that offers an ad-free experience along with features like offline listening and higher sound quality. This tiered model caters to different user preferences and budgets. Spotify generates revenue through subscription fees from premium users and advertising from the free tier. Unlike its competitors, Spotify stands out with its extensive music library, user-friendly interface, and personalized playlists. The company's goal is to connect listeners with a wide range of audio content while supporting artists and advertisers.

Stockholms kommun, SwedenHeadquarters

2006Year Founded

$2,004.2MTotal Funding

IPOCompany Stage

Consumer Software, EntertainmentIndustries

10,001+Employees

Benefits

Extensive learning opportunities, through our dedicated team, GreenHouse

Global parental leave, six months off - fully paid - for all new parents

Flexible public holidays, swap days off according to your values and beliefs

Flexible share incentives letting you choose how you share in our success

All The Feels, our employee assistance program and self-care hub

Spotify On Tour, join your colleagues on trips to industry festivals and events

Risks

Accidental display of adult content may harm Spotify's reputation.

Creating its own music to avoid royalties could lead to legal issues.

Layoffs may affect Spotify's operational efficiency and employee morale.

Differentiation

Spotify offers a vast library of music and podcasts globally.

The platform's user-friendly interface enhances user experience and engagement.

Spotify's personalized playlists cater to individual user preferences.

Upsides

Spotify's AI-powered Wrapped feature enhances user engagement and personalization.

Expansion into political podcasting taps into new audience segments.

Growing podcast popularity in Africa presents expansion opportunities for Spotify.

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