Ask HN: What systems development R&D opportunities are there for new grads?

For background, I'm currently a junior at a good CS school in the country, and I am interested in operating system and compiler development, as well as low level performance optimization. I'd really like to work in the R&D sector at a top tech company (I've heard good things about Apple's and Nvidia's systems teams) in any of the fields above, but I'm having a hard time finding people who work in those areas.

I am under the impression that R&D teams are primarily PhD researchers - I am looking for a more development related role on such a team just so I can get some exposure to a research environment; ideally, this would eventually lead to me doing a PhD myself, but I'm hoping to gain some experience before going for one.

I have a year of college left, and I'd like to do some research, but I would appreciate advice on whether there are such opportunities out there - if so, I can tailor the research I do to match the team's focus to increase my chances of working with said team.

To summarize, my questions are: 1. Are opportunities on R&D teams at Apple/Nvidia/MSR/other companies doing systems work available for new grads? 2. If so, are there particular areas of research I can focus on to have some experience when I apply for such roles?

Thank you!