Research Intern – AI & 6G Systems (x2 internships available)
Department: Technology
Team: 6G Task Force (Research and Standards Team)
Location: London, UK
Position type: 4–6-month contract, remote/hybrid working, full-time or part-time.
What the hiring manager says
“6G is being defined right now, and AI is the key enabler of it. This placement puts you in the room where both technologies converge. You’ll work directly with our standards and research team on questions the industry has yet to answer, and your analysis will feed straight into the frameworks operators and vendors around the world will use. You’ll have the opportunity to work with some of the best engineers and scientists from across the telecom ecosystem”
Dr Morteza Kheirkhah - Technical Director, GSMA
About the team
The 6G Task Force, part of the Research and Standards team within GSMA's Technology function, has grown quickly over the past year as GSMA has taken on a leading role in shaping the industry's 6G and AI agenda. The team works across mobile network architecture, AI/ML, ISAC, and next-generation standards, partnering closely with 3GPP, operators, vendors, and universities worldwide. You'll join a close-knit, fast-moving group at the moment the foundations of 6G are being laid, giving you a rare vantage point on how academic research becomes global industry standards.
About the role
This 4–6 month placement gives a PhD or MSc researcher hands-on exposure to how the mobile industry defines and standardises next-generation technologies. You'll review 3GPP SA1 6G use cases and requirements for technical feasibility and commercial viability, engage with Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) across the UE, RAN and Core Network, and contribute to AI workstreams including Agentic AI, multi-agent systems, and AI communication protocols and semantics.
Success in this role means producing technical analyses, white papers and standard contributions that directly inform GSMA's 6G strategy and its engagement with member companies and standards bodies, particularly 3GPP.
By the end of the placement, you'll have contributed to at least one substantive deliverable shaping GSMA's 6G and AI thinking, built relationships across the global mobile ecosystem, and gained a practical understanding of how industry standards are developed.
About you
You'll be a PhD or MSc researcher, studying wireless communications, computer science, AI/ML or a related field, with demonstrable knowledge of 5G/5G-A standards, sensing, AI/ML for networks, or telecom system architecture. You'll need to read and critically assess technical standards documents and turn dense research into analysis that both technical and commercial stakeholders can act on.
This placement gives you the opportunity to build stakeholder-facing and commercial skills alongside your technical expertise, working directly with some of the world's leading engineers, scientists, and industry experts at GSMA and across the global telecom ecosystem.
You'll gain first-hand experience of how industry pre-standards and standards are developed, shaped and adopted.
About your skills
1. Communication
2. Delivery
3. Agility
4. Teamwork
5. Analysis
Contract type
Fixed Term Contract (Fixed Term)
Worker type
Employee
Working at the GSMA offers you unparalleled access to the mobile industry. We offer a chance to truly shape the direction of mobile, whatever your role. By joining the GSMA, you will be exposed to a fast-paced rapidly evolving environment, working on global solutions, genuinely fascinating and industry-changing projects and a stimulating and dynamic environment designed to enable you to flourish.
In addition to architect-designed offices and competitive compensation, our benefits include fantastic learning & development opportunities, generous holiday allowances, four additional days off for professional development and many others.
To learn more about the GSMA, visit our career site, our LinkedIn page and our Twitter page.
Being You at the GSMA
We care deeply about diversity, equity and inclusivity and aspire to be the best at it. Your well-being and work/life balance is important, so flexi-time and remote working is available to all staff. We're keen to ensure everyone is equal, represented and connected so we particularly encourage applications from all demographics. The sucess of the GSMA year on year will continue to be contributed by people from all walks of life.
GSMA Values
Our values not only drive our culture – they shape how we work and interact inside and outside our global organisation.
Passionately driven
We approach everything we do with unparalleled capability, tenacity and commitment, knowing that the challenging scale, pace and complexity of our work is what leads to its world-changing impact.
Insightful leaders
We continually develop and engage our expertise, insight and creativity so that we’re always ready to respond to the changing landscape with authority, agility and nuance.
Stronger together
We lean on each other so the industry can lean on us, embracing our diversity by actively seeking out perspectives and skill sets beyond our own, fuelling each other’s successes and constantly asking how we can help.
Underpinning our values is our collective mindset to show up purposefully as good human beings every day, in every situation. When we’re at our best – we are collaborative, considerate and compassionate to others, and we create a safe space for one another to thrive, assuming positive intent in our colleagues. And if we aren’t at our best and the pressure is on – we feel free to be ourselves but still remain curious, lean into the tough stuff and we are always respectful to others and accountable for the part we play.
