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 For Sunnyvale, CA-based roles: The base hourly rate amount for this role is USD$67.00 per hour. You will also be eligible for various benefits. Uber's mission is to reimagine the way the world moves for the better. Here, bold ideas create real-world impact, challenges drive growth, and speed fuels progress. What moves us, moves the world - let's move it forward, together. Uber is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing [this form](https://forms.gle/aDWTk9k6xtMU25Y5A). Offices continue to be central to collaboration and Uber’s cultural identity. Unless formally approved to work fully remotely, Uber expects employees to spend at least half of their work time in their assigned office. For certain roles, such as those based at green-light hubs, employees are expected to be in-office for 100% of their time. Please speak with your recruiter to better understand in-office expectations for this role.