Software Engineering Internship

On-site in Seattle: Persons in these roles are expected to work from our offices in Seattle. 

Compensation Range: $94,320 - $140,000*
*Compensation dependent upon degree attained 

Who You Are:

We are seeking a motivated and passionate Software Engineering Intern to join the Skylight Engineering Team for the summer. This role offers an exciting opportunity to work on impactful projects, learn from experienced engineers, and contribute to protecting marine life.

Ai2 Internship Information:

• Duration: 12 weeks
• Start date: Flexible 
• Candidates: An undergraduate student with strong software engineering fundamentals and a passion for building products with impact. 

To see more about our current, future, and past interns, check out our internship page on our website!

Who We Are: 

Skylight is one of Ai2’s groundbreaking AI for Conservation programs, dedicated to protecting the world’s oceans by combating illegal fishing. Our advanced AI-powered platform delivers real-time vessel detections and actionable insights that empower enforcement agencies globally to protect marine ecosystems.

With Skylight’s cutting-edge AI technology and analytics, those working to safeguard marine life can quickly identify illegal fishing activities, ensuring that our oceans remain healthy and resilient.  By supporting more effective enforcement and compliance, we play a vital role in preserving marine life and ensuring the health of our oceans for generations to come.

Read more about the Skylight program at our website here

Why Skylight?

At Skylight, we are dedicated to using AI to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Our mission-driven team values collaboration, impact, and openness. As an intern, you’ll be part of an inclusive and supportive environment where your ideas and contributions truly matter.

Your Next Challenge:

• Collaborate with the engineering team to develop, test, and deploy software tools that support Skylight’s mission.
• Work on and ship production code for real-world projects involving data pipelines, web applications, or satellite imagery processing.
• Gain hands-on experience with technologies such as Typescript, Python, React, Kafka, Mapbox, ElasticSearch, MongoDB, and cloud platforms like Google Cloud.
• Participate in brainstorming sessions, technical discussions, and code reviews.
• Contribute to the development of tools or features that improve Skylight’s impact on marine conservation.

What You’ll Need:

• Rising junior or senior pursuing a degree in Computer Science or a related field.
• Passion for software engineering and interest in environmental conservation.
• A strong foundation in any modern programming language.
• Curiosity and eagerness to learn new technologies and tackle technical challenges.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work in a collaborative team environment.
• Interest in the full product development process, including engaging with users to understand their needs and gather feedback to improve products.

What You’ll Gain:

• Real-world experience in software engineering and exposure to state-of-the-art AI tools.
• Mentorship from experienced professionals who are leaders in their fields.
• Insight into how technology is used to address critical environmental challenges.
• A chance to make a meaningful impact on global marine conservation efforts.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position for long periods of time. 
• The ability to communicate information and ideas so others will understand. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations. 
• The ability to observe details at close range.
• Can work under deadlines.

A Little More About Ai2:

The Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence is a non-profit research institute in Seattle founded by Paul Allen. We have a beautiful office right on Lake Union; catered lunches; smart, friendly and helpful co-workers. We are right next to multiple mountain ranges, oceans, and forests, that make for a vibrant outdoor scene. 

The core mission of Ai2 is to contribute to humanity through high-impact research in artificial intelligence. In addition to Ai2’s core mission, we also aim to contribute to humanity through our treatment of each member of the Ai2 Team. Some highlights are:

• We are a learning organization – because everything Ai2 does is ground-breaking, we are learning every day. Similarly, through weekly Ai2 Academy lectures, a wide variety of world-class AI experts as guest speakers, and our commitment to your personal on-going education, Ai2 is a place where you will have opportunities to continue learning alongside your coworkers. 
• We value diversity - We seek to hire, support, and promote people from all genders, ethnicities, and all levels of experience regardless of age. We particularly encourage applications from women, non-binary individuals, people of color, members of the LGBTQA+ community, and people with disabilities of any kind. 
• We value inclusion - We understand the value that people’s individual experiences and perspectives can bring to an organization, and we are building a culture in which all voices are heard, respected and considered.
• We emphasize a healthy work/life balance – we believe our team members are happiest and most productive when their work/life balance is optimized. While we value powerful research results which drive our mission forward, we also value dinner with family, weekend time, and vacation time. We offer generous paid vacation and sick leave as well as family leave.
• We are collaborative and transparent – we consider ourselves a team, all moving with a common purpose. We are quick to cheer our successes, and even quicker to share and jointly problem solve our failures.
• We are in Seattle – and our office is on the water! We have mountains, we have lakes, we have four seasons, we bike to work, we have a vibrant theater scene, and we have so much else. We even have kayaks for you to paddle right outside our front door. We welcome interest from applicants from outside of the United States.
• We are friendly– chances are you will like every one of the 200+ (and growing) people who work here. We do. 

Ai2 is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. You may view the related Know Your Rights compliance poster and the Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision by clicking on their corresponding links. 

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants with disabilities to the full extent required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you feel you need a reasonable accommodation pursuant to the ADA, you are encouraged to contact us at recruiting@allenai.org. 

Benefits: 

• Team members and their families are covered by medical, dental, vision, and an employee assistance program. 
• Team members are able to enroll in our health savings account plan, our healthcare reimbursement arrangement plan, and our health care and dependent care flexible spending account plans. 
• Team members will receive $125 per month to assist with commuting or internet expenses and will also receive $200 per month for fitness and wellbeing expenses. 
• Team members will accrue 1 hour per every 30 hours worked. If you are usually scheduled to work on a holiday that AI2 recognizes as a day off, you will be paid for this day.

Note: This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the team members(s) of this position. Team members will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the team member(s) will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an at will relationship.