Development, Intern

Essex Property Trust • San Mateo, CA

9d • Hybrid

About The Position

Are you ready to gain hands-on experience with an industry-leading real estate company? Essex Property Trust, an S&P 500 real estate investment trust (REIT), invites highly motivated college students to join our 8-week, paid summer internship program in Development. As a Development Intern, you will support the team responsible for sourcing, entitling, and executing multifamily development projects—contributing to a pipeline of 1,000–1,500 units in various stages of progress. This internship offers meaningful exposure to the full development lifecycle and the opportunity to work on high impact projects that influence our future portfolio. This is a full-time internship, Monday through Friday, with a pay rate of $26.00 per hour.

Requirements

• Education – You must be enrolled in a four-year accredited undergraduate program or a Master’s Program, majoring in Real Estate, Finance, Economics, Business, Construction Management,Urban Planning, Architecture, Engineering, or a related field. Rising seniors (Class of 2027) or Master Program students are encouraged to apply.
• Relevant Experience – Prior internship, project-based work, or campus involvement related to real estate development, construction management, planning, or data analysis is strongly preferred; experience applying analytical or research skills in a professional or academic setting is a plus.
• Skills & Attributes – Strong written and verbal communication, analytical thinking, curiosity, organization, and the ability to interpret information with guidance. Basic quantitative skills and comfort with detail are important.
• Technical – Comfortable with core Excel functions (e.g., SUMIFS, XLOOKUP/INDEX-MATCH, IF/AND/OR), pivot tables, basic data cleaning (duplicates, formatting, missing values), Conditional Formatting, and structured tables. Experience organizing datasets and building simple sensitivities is a plus.
• Work Environment – This is a hybrid role, requiring you to be in our San Mateo office four days a week (Monday – Thursday).
• Interest in real estate development, finance, design, and project management.
• Ability to work collaboratively with multiple departments and partners.
• Strong attention to detail and a willingness to learn new skills.
• Proactive curiosity — asking questions, seeking clarity, and taking initiative in tasks.

Responsibilities

• Support Financial Analysis Activities
• Assist With Site Identification & Due Diligence
• Conduct Market & Zoning Research
• Support Entitlement, Design & Project Execution Tasks

Benefits

• All full-time regular associates are offered competitive salaries, experience career growth, and are eligible for benefit packages that include medical, dental, vision, paid parental leave, 401k employer match, excellence rewards, wellness programs, and much more.
• With our 12 paid holidays and 15 PTO days, work/life balance is a priority!
• Additionally, most positions are eligible for a housing discount of 20%.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern