Research Internship, Climate Modeling

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 through our treatment of each member of the Ai2 Team. Some highlights are:

• We are a learning organization – because everything Ai2 does is ground-breaking, we are learning every day. Similarly, through weekly Ai2 Academy lectures, a wide variety of world-class AI experts as guest speakers, and our commitment to your personal on-going education, Ai2 is a place where you will have opportunities to continue learning alongside your coworkers. 
• We value diversity - We seek to hire, support, and promote people from all genders, ethnicities, and all levels of experience regardless of age. We particularly encourage applications from women, non-binary individuals, people of color, members of the LGBTQA+ community, and people with disabilities of any kind. 
• We value inclusion - We understand the value that people's individual experiences and perspectives can bring to an organization, and we are building a culture in which all voices are heard, respected and considered.
• We emphasize a healthy work/life balance – we believe our team members are happiest and most productive when their work/life balance is optimized. While we value powerful research results which drive our mission forward, we also value dinner with family, weekend time, and vacation time. We offer generous paid vacation and sick leave as well as family leave.
• We are collaborative and transparent – we consider ourselves a team, all moving with a common purpose. We are quick to cheer our successes, and even quicker to share and jointly problem solve our failures.
• We are in Seattle – and our office is on the water! We have mountains, we have lakes, we have four seasons, we bike to work, we have a vibrant theater scene, and we have so much else. We even have kayaks for you to paddle right outside our front door. We welcome interest from applicants from outside of the United States.
• We are friendly– chances are you will like every one of the 200+ (and growing) people who work here. We do. 

Ai2 is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. You may view the related Know Your Rights compliance poster and the Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision by clicking on their corresponding links. 

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants with disabilities to the full extent required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you feel you need a reasonable accommodation pursuant to the ADA, you are encouraged to contact us at recruiting@allenai.org.

Benefits: 

• Team members and their families are covered by medical, dental, vision, and an employee assistance program. 
• Team members are able to enroll in our health savings account plan, our healthcare reimbursement arrangement plan, and our health care and dependent care flexible spending account plans. 
• Team members will receive $125 per month to assist with commuting or internet expenses and will also receive $200 per month for fitness and wellbeing expenses. 
• Team members will accrue sick days per year in line with Seattle sick time requirements. If you are usually scheduled to work on a holiday that Ai2 recognizes as a day off, you will be paid for this day.

 

 

 

 

Note: This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the team members(s) of this position. Team members will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the team member(s) will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an at will relationship.