2027 Summer Intern, Software Engineer (Reston, VA)

ICF • Reston, VA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Software Engineer Intern will join ICF’s AI research and development team to work on real-world AI challenges. The intern will collaborate with AI researchers, machine learning engineers, data engineers, and data scientists to design, develop, and implement machine learning models, including large language models, for scalable AI-driven solutions. The role offers hands-on project experience, technical mentorship, and career development support. This is an entry-level, 10-week, full-time internship expected to run from June through August 2027, working in a hybrid arrangement from ICF’s Reston, Virginia office. Housing and relocation assistance are not available. The intern must be a U.S. citizen, reside in the United States, be authorized to work in the United States, and perform all work in the United States per contract requirements.

Requirements

• By the start date, have completed at least 30 college-level credit hours, preferably in computer science, information technology, or a related field.
• Be a U.S. citizen, reside in the U.S., and be authorized to work in the U.S.; all work must be performed in the U.S. per contract requirements.

Nice To Haves

• A strong foundation in object-oriented design, data structures, algorithms, and complexity analysis.
• Proficiency in at least one general-purpose programming language, with a strong preference for Python.
• Experience with machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Scikit-learn.
• Demonstrated experience working with large-scale datasets and data preprocessing.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills.
• Experience with version control systems such as Git is a plus.
• A dedicated mentor, practical experience on real-world AI projects, access to training resources and workshops, and networking with scientists, engineers, and other professionals are offered as internship opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Support the AI product lifecycle, including data acquisition and collection, preprocessing, model design and development, training, optimization, deployment, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Develop and train machine learning models, including deep learning and large-scale models, for challenges in areas such as natural language processing, computer vision, and generative AI.
• Perform exploratory data analysis and feature engineering on large-scale, semi-structured datasets to extract insights and improve model performance and efficiency.
• Write clean, production-ready code and participate in system design discussions, design sessions, code reviews, and testing.
• Research and prototype emerging AI and machine learning techniques, and stay current with research and industry developments.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product or project managers, data engineers and scientists, and software engineers, to refine requirements and deliver AI-driven solutions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: No Education Listed