Research Internship

Persons in these roles are expected to work from our offices in Seattle. On-site requirements vary based on position and team. If you have questions about on-site work arrangements for this role, please ask your recruiter.

*Compensation dependent on current degree enrollment. 
Engineering Intern, Undergrad: $94,320 (Annually) 
Engineering Intern, Masters: $106,110 (Annually) 
Engineering Intern, PhD: $140,000 (Annually) 

Who You Are:

Are you interested in researching cutting-edge developments in AI applied to climate modeling? Do you have a passion for applying technology to do good in the world? If so, an Ai2 research internship in the Climate Modeling team may be the perfect opportunity. We will be offering two 12-week internships during summer 2026.  We will review applications and schedule virtual interviews for top candidates in January-February 2026. Your completed application package must be received by January 4, 2026.  

Ai2 Research Internship Information:

• Duration: 12 weeks
• Start date: Flexible, between May 1st -July 1st
• Candidates: A PhD candidate in Computer Science or Informatics, or in a climate-relevant physical science.  In either case, both relevant coursework and practical experience with machine learning are required.

Who We Are: 

Ai2’s Climate Modeling team (Ai2CM) has developed ACE, the world’s leading AI-based global atmosphere emulator for climate applications.  ACE can be trained to replicate weather variability and climate change at 100 km horizontal resolution using historical observations or outputs from any physics-based climate model.  It runs hundreds of times faster  on a single GPU than such a model running on a supercomputer.   For climate-planning applications, we have implemented diffusion-based super-resolution for ‘downscaling’ ACE simulations to kilometer-scale local detail. 

Your Next Challenge:

At Ai2, you will be working with world-class AI researchers and software engineers. We perform team-based, ambitious research, with a mandate to strive for big breakthroughs, not just incremental progress, in an exciting and interactive workplace. 

Interns will develop and apply novel AI methodologies to either (1) improve the generalization skill of ACE to unseen climates such as we might encounter in next 30 years, or (2) extend the capabilities and improve the efficiency and skill of our AI-based downscaling to make it useful for practical applications such as assessing wildfire hazard or snowpack in a changing climate.

You will work closely with a technical mentor on project design, coding and testing.  Your technical mentor will discuss project details with you before your start date.

Over the course of your time at Ai2, you will build your resume and leave an impact on Ai2 and the world.   We have a beautiful office near a bike trail, the University of Washington and Lake Union; daily catered lunches; and great pay.  Summer is the perfect season to explore Seattle and our great outdoors.

What You’ll Need:

• Candidacy in a doctoral program in computer or computational/data science, applied math/statistics, physical sciences or engineering. 
• Strong skills in Python and collaborative software development in git; good communication skills.  
• Prior coursework and practical experience in machine learning.
• Graduate-level course work in atmospheric or climate science or some area of fluid dynamics is a plus.
• Eager to learn new skills and like to work in a challenging environment.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a team member to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position for long periods of time. 
• The ability to communicate information and ideas so others will understand. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations. 
• The ability to observe details at close range.
• Can work under deadlines.

A Little More About Ai2:

Ai2 is a Seattle based non-profit AI research institute founded in 2014 by the late Paul Allen. Our mission is building breakthrough AI to solve the world’s biggest problems. We develop foundational AI research and innovation to deliver real-world impact through large-scale open models, data, robotics, conservation, and beyond.

In addition to Ai2’s core mission, we also aim to contribute to humanity