2026 PhD Software Engineer Intern (Kafka), United States
Posted on: 15 Dec 2025
Sunnyvale, CA
Job Description
We’re looking for PhD candidates to intern on the Kafka team during summer 2026 (12 weeks). You will be embedded in our engineering team and work closely with other specialists, software developers, and product managers. As a PhD intern, you will work on an exciting yet bold problem in depth and independently, under the supervision of an experienced engineer on that team.
About the Team
The Kafka team is a part of the Data Infrastructure team. It is responsible for providing a messaging service that is highly available, durable, and provides an end-to-end latency guarantee. Transporting multi-trillion messages a day across tens of thousands of topics (and growing), we are one of the biggest Kafka ecosystems in the world. Within the team, we have four sub-areas: Security and Observability, Core Kafka, Kafka Ecosystem, and Kafka Messaging Platform. Projects include Kafka on Odin, Kafka Tiered Storage, Kafka Security, Ecosystem Manager, Kafka Consumer Proxy, Kafka Client Standardization, Hardcore Efficiency, etc
What You'll Do
Drive exciting, ambitious, previously unsolved projects from end to end
Make data-driven decisions, with exceptional execution
Be motivated to own projects and push them forward with independence
Work on the internals of Kafka and build features that will help serve our users better.
Build services that are part of the Kafka Ecosystem
Most importantly, have a passion to make Uber better for our customers
Basic Qualifications
Currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program studying distributed systems, machine learning or a related engineering field
Candidates must have at least one semester/quarter of their education left following the internship
Preferred Qualifications
Solid understanding of Java for backend / systems software development
Knowledge of the underlying technical foundations of distributed systems
Experience with open source streaming technologies, e.g., Kafka and Flink
Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and business partners
Research mentality with a bias towards action to structure a project from idea to experimentation to prototype to implementation
Uber Technologies, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
Uber Technologies, Inc. develops and supports proprietary technology applications that enable independent providers of ridesharing, and meal preparation and delivery services to transact with end-users worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Core Platform and Other Bets. Its driver partners provide ridesharing services through a range of vehicles, such as cars, auto rickshaws, motorbikes, minibuses, or taxis, as well as based on the number of riders under the UberBLACK, UberX, UberPOOL, Express POOL, and Uber Bus names; and restaurant and delivery partners provide meal preparation and delivery services under the Uber Eats name.
The company also offers Uber Central, a tool that enables companies to request, manage, and pay for rides for their employees, customers, or partners; and Uber Health, which allows healthcare professionals to arrange rides for patients going to and from the care destinations. In addition, it provides freight transportation services to shippers in the freight industry under the Uber Freight name; leases vehicles to third-parties that use the vehicles to provide ridesharing or eats services through the platforms; and provides access to rides through personal mobility products, including dockless e-bikes and e-scooters under the JUMP name. The company was formerly known as Ubercab, Inc. and changed its name to Uber Technologies, Inc. in February 2011. Uber Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
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IndustryTransport/Delivery Services
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No. of Employees22,263+
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Website
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Jobs Posted203
