Fall 2026 Intern - Software Engineer

Overview

As a Software Engineer Intern at C4ADS, you will work with our software development team on full-stack web application development. Our software team creates new tools for analyzing and disseminating publicly available data for the rest of C4ADS and partner organizations aligned with our mission. You will have an opportunity to learn through experience, work in a fast-paced environment, and build a portfolio. You will also learn about our analytical workflows for open-source data analysis and tools, and develop software features that enhance our ability to create analytical impact. Software Engineer Interns receive one-on-one mentorship to advance their professional development.

Past Software Engineer Interns Have

• Collaborated side-by-side with engineers on software development and data science
• Optimized the data and software lifecycles in our SaaS products with mentorship
• Modified and improved data storage and loading
• Developed features of a critical production application
• Learned how to use AWS cloud tools and run code in a cloud environment

What You'll Do

• Contribute to sprint-based, agile software development projects for public-facing web applications
• Create or contribute to development of tools for analysis and information distribution
• Contribute to implement internal process improvements like automating manual workflows, optimizing data delivery, re-designing existing application infrastructure for greater scalability and performance, etc.
• Work with analytical teams to understand and support their workflows through with software product features
• Assist the team with optimizing and improving existing resources and tools

What We're Looking For

• Experience in full-stack web development with React, Python and/or Django
• A strong commitment to personal and professional development
• Working knowledge with relational databases (eg. Postgres) and cloud services (e.g. AWS)
• Experience developing projects with git and working in a team environment
• Interest in our mission to develop technology tools and methodologies to expand global data transparency and counter illicit networks.
• Experience in international affairs, journalism, open source intelligence (OSINT), or national security preferred

Program Details

• Open to current undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent graduates.
• Program starts 9/1/2016 and will run 12-14 weeks
• Applicants must be authorized to work in the US; C4ADS does not sponsor work authorizations for interns
• Stipend of up to $9,600 per semester, for interns who can commit to at least 30 hours per week
• Please note that we ask you are able to commit to at least 30 hours per week to your work.