[Remote] 2026 PhD Software Engineer Intern (Kafka), United States

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Uber is looking for PhD candidates to intern on the Kafka team during summer 2026. The intern will work closely with specialists and engineers to tackle bold problems and contribute to the Kafka ecosystem, which is responsible for transporting trillions of messages daily. Responsibilities 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 Skills 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 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 Benefits Various benefits Company Overview Uber develops, markets, and operates a ride-sharing mobile application that allows consumers to submit a trip request. It was founded in 2009, and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA, with a workforce of 10001+ employees. Its website is Company H1B Sponsorship Uber has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships, with 830 in 2025, 796 in 2024, 684 in 2023, 954 in 2022, 750 in 2021, 638 in 2020. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role.