2026 - Community Development Research Intern

Metropolitan Council•390 Robert St. N St. Paul, MN

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

As the Research intern for the Community Development Research department, you will have the opportunity to support the Regionally Significant Ecological Areas (RSEA) modernization project, contributing to data collection, ground-truthing, and quality assurance for a regional habitat classification and remote sensing initiative covering the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. This internship is designed to provide students meaningful work, be an introduction to public service and a chance to discover the Metropolitan Council. The Metropolitan Council is made up of several operating divisions that service the Twin Cities Metropolitan area in a number of ways. Metro Transit provides bus and light rail public transportation for the greater metropolitan area. Environmental Services manages wastewater treatment plants and the regional wastewater collection system and water planning for the seven-county metropolitan region. Community Development is responsible for helping the Council shape its regional growth plan. Metro HRA provides affordable housing programs in the region. Metropolitan Transportation Services (MTS) is responsible for the transportation planning functions as the Twin Cities metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for transportation. Regional Administration provides support services (Finance, Payroll, HR, etc.) for the Council.

Requirements

Must be enrolled in an accredited institution (certificate/technical program, Associates, Bachelor's, Master's or PhD) OR a recent graduate (within the last 12 months of posting).
Candidate's residence must be in Minnesota or Wisconsin during the internship.
An UNOFFICAL transcript is required to be attached to the application.
A valid MN/WI driver's license.

Nice To Haves

GIS experience (ArcGIS, QGIS, or similar)
Background in natural systems and habitats in Minnesota
Ability to work independently and as part of a team
Attention to detail
Final year/senior standing or recent graduate
Python and/or R programming experience
Familiarity with the Twin Cities metro region
Prior fieldwork experience
Comfort working with satellite/aerial imagery

Responsibilities

Create labeled training and validation datasets for a machine learning habitat classification project covering the Twin Cities region.
Digitize and label habitat polygons in GIS using satellite imagery and existing land cover data.
Conduct ground-truthing in the field to verify habitat types, and perform quality assurance by comparing field observations against satellite-derived classifications.
Support a pilot study by testing, refining, and documenting data collection procedures before they are applied across the full region.
Depending on interest and capacity, interns may also have the opportunity to contribute to other Community Development Research projects.