Position title: SAP iXp Intern - AI Research PhD Associate
Location: Palo Alto
Expected start date: October 2026
Contract Duration: 4 months
Work Hours: Full-time, 40 hours per week

• As a PhD Intern you will work with a team of experienced researchers and data scientists taking on challenges posed by the SAP customers and product units and providing smart services across and beyond the SAP portfolio. You will have the chance to work with some of the richest data sets available in the world addressing real-world problems
• Perform state of the art research to advance Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
• Choose from different focus topics: Foundation Models on Structured, Tabular Data; Scalable access to business data using LLMs and Knowledge Graphs
• Publish research results and contribute to research that can be applied to SAP product development
• Collaborate with academic researchers and cross-functional partners including communicating research plans, progress, and results

What You'll Bring

We're looking for someone who takes initiative, perseveres, and stay curious. You like to work on meaningful innovative projects and are energized by lifelong learning.

• You are a PhD student at least in your second year or PostDocs, specializing in our research area: Generative Foundation Models on Structured Data
• Experience with a strong foundation in machine learning, including building systems utilizing deep learning, natural language processing, LLMs, Foundation Models, or Knowledge Graphs
• A strong publication record in recognized ML/NLP conferences or journals such as ACL, EMNLP, ICLR, ICML, NeurIPS
• Proficient in PyTorch, Python, and HuggingFace Transformers, with a good understanding of statistical analysis and shell programming
• Must be fluent in English.
• The duration of the internship is at least 4 months but ideally 6 months and should take place in 2026.

Where You Belong

Be part of SAP Next Gen, a global community for students, universities, schools and educational partners, who are passionate about innovation and technology.

1. Culture of Collaboration: Partner with experienced SAP colleagues and expert mentors who will support your growth. Grow professionally through personalized mentoring, coaching, and career development support.
2. Project-driven Experience: Kickstart your career with hands-on learning experience, making an impact from day one by contributing to meaningful projects that help the world run better. You'll have endless learning resources at your fingertips and gain future-ready skills from a variety of virtual, in-person, and hybrid learning sessions, cultivated just for you, and aligned with our learning approach.
3. Gain Visibility: Build relationships with leaders and peers across teams and functions. Showcase your ideas, skills, and creativity in a global, fast-paced environment. Open doors for future career opportunities within SAP and beyond.

SAP's AI organization is dedicated to seamlessly infusing AI into all enterprise applications, enabling customers, partners, and developers to enhance business processes and generate remarkable business value. Leveraging the cutting-edge developments in AI research along with SAP's unparalleled enterprise data assets offers a distinctive opportunity to explore an uncharted domain within AI research. As a vital part of this organization, our team is dedicated to pioneering transformative advancements in high-value domains, including Foundation Models for structured data and the development of comprehensive grounding for widespread SAP applications through Knowledge Graphs.



#LifeAtSAP #SAPNextGen

Requisition ID: 450728 | Work Area: Software-Research | Expected Travel: 0 - 10% | Career Status: Student | Employment Type: Limited Full Time | Additional Locations: #LI-Hybrid

Requisition ID: 450728

Posted Date: Jul 12, 2026

Work Area: Software-Research

Career Status: Student

Employment Type: Limited Full Time

Expected Travel: 0 - 10%

Location: