Software Development Engineer Intern

McDonald's Corporation • Chicago, IL

2d • Onsite

About The Position

McDonald’s Commercial Products & Platforms organization develops global technology products and platforms that delight customers and help restaurant crew operate efficiently, reliably, and effectively at scale. The Software Engineering internship may place interns on squads focused on frontend development, digital backend systems, restaurant technology, or related areas. After initial training, interns join a full-time team and learn the business and their role’s expectations. The program also offers events such as an Executive Speaker Series, learning sessions, peer lunches, and Employee Business Network sessions, as well as early access to full-time post-graduation opportunities.

The internship is based at McDonald’s global headquarters in downtown Chicago. Interns must be willing to relocate to the Chicagoland area, if applicable, for the program’s duration; a housing stipend is offered. The internship runs full-time, Monday through Friday, for 10 weeks, from June 7, 2027, through August 13, 2027. Interns may participate in the Summer Hours program. The role pays $32 per hour and offers health and welfare benefits.

Requirements

• Be a junior working toward a bachelor’s degree, with an expected graduation date in Fall 2027 or Spring 2028.
• Be authorized to work in the United States and not require visa sponsorship for the internship or future employment.
• Demonstrate proficiency leveraging AI to solve engineering and non-engineering problems.
• Have programming experience in at least one modern language, such as Java, Python, C++, or C#, including object-oriented design.
• Have experience in optimization mathematics, such as linear programming and nonlinear optimization.
• Have strong analytical skills, including the ability to work with data, identify trends and patterns, and translate findings into actionable technical solutions.
• Have strong communication skills and adapt communication to the audience.
• Be committed to a culture of inclusiveness.
• Be willing to relocate to the Chicagoland area for the duration of the internship, if applicable.

Nice To Haves

• A major in Computer Science, Computer Programming, CIS, Computer Engineering, or another technology-related field is preferred.
• Involvement in campus organizations, leadership positions, or work experience in technology-related roles.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate, design, and bring innovative products and services to market.
• Design and build technologies in a large, distributed computing environment and help lead fundamental changes in the industry.
• Create solutions to run predictions on distributed systems, with exposure to innovative technologies at scale and speed.
• Build scalable, fault-tolerant, low-cost, easy-to-manage distributed storage, index, and query systems.
• Design and code solutions to broadly defined problems.
• Work in an agile environment to deliver high-quality software.
• Contribute to product features from beginning to end.
• Design, implement, test, deploy, and maintain software solutions that improve service performance, durability, cost, and security.
• Work in a startup-like development environment, prioritizing meaningful work.

Benefits

• Housing stipend
• Health insurance, including medical, prescription drug, mental health, dental, and vision coverage
• Life insurance
• Summer Hours program
• Flexible work arrangements
• Sabbatical program
• Tuition assistance
• Early access to full-time post-graduation opportunities

What This Job Offers

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