2027 Summer Intern, AI Engineer (Reston, VA) at ICF International

Job description

ICF is seeking an AI Engineering Intern to support the design, development, testing, and responsible use of AI-enabled solutions. Working with technical, data, security, and business or program specialists, you will help translate defined needs into practical, repeatable solutions. Depending on the assignment, your work may focus on AI application development, data engineering, cloud and platform services, automation, AI governance, or a combination of these areas. This is a hands-on learning opportunity with guidance and feedback from experienced team members. You may write code, prepare and evaluate data, prototype AI-assisted workflows, test controls and outputs, document technical processes, and communicate findings to technical and nontechnical audiences. This is a 10-week, full-time internship expected to begin in June and end in August. This role will be hybrid from Reston, VA (2x per week). At this time, we are unable to provide housing nor relocation assistance for this position. Potential Areas of Alignment Applied AI and intelligent automation: Build or enhance workflows that use approved large language models, machine learning, APIs, agentic tools, or automation technologies. AI and data engineering: Collect, clean, validate, transform, and combine approved structured or unstructured data for AI applications, analytics, databases, or reporting. Enterprise AI platforms and governance: Support secure and responsible AI environments, including access controls, data protection, usage oversight, validation, documentation, and lifecycle practices. Business- or domain-focused solutions: Apply AI engineering skills to operational, corporate, client, or program needs in collaboration with subject matter experts. What You Will Do Collaborate with technical and business or program stakeholders to understand user needs, workflows, requirements, assumptions, constraints, and success criteria. Write, test, and maintain code or scripts to support data processing, AI applications, integrations, automation, validation, or reporting. Prepare and evaluate approved datasets, investigate missing or inconsistent information, and document data sources and processing steps. Help prototype AI-enabled solutions using approved models, APIs, cloud services, low-code tools, or related technologies. Create test cases and evaluate results against source data, expected outcomes, control requirements, or established baselines; record errors, risks, and limitations. Support responsible AI, privacy, security, and governance practices, including appropriate data access, human review, documentation, and use of approved tools. Use version control and team development practices to organize code, configuration, documentation, and incremental changes. Prepare clear technical documentation, runbooks, demonstrations, analyses, or presentations so others can understand, reproduce, and build on the work. Participate in project check-ins and reviews, communicate progress and blockers, track assigned work, and incorporate feedback. Recommend practical improvements to workflows, tools, controls, data quality, testing, or user experience. What You Bring We welcome skills developed through coursework, personal projects, student research, prior internships, employment, or other applied learning. You do not need experience with every technology or focus area listed in this description. Basic Qualifications 30-completed college credit hours by start date in computer science, data science, information systems, engineering, analytics, cybersecurity, or a related field. Preferred Skills and Experience A completed bachelor’s degree and enrollment verification or 9 credit hours completed in a graduate program related to computer science, data science, information systems, engineering, analytics, cybersecurity, or a related field. Experience with programming or scripting languages such as Python, PowerShell, JavaScript, SQL, or comparable languages, including experience wi