Working in Technology (WiT) Data Science - Summer 2027 at William Blair in Chicago, IL

Job description

Solutions for Today’s Challenges. Vision for Tomorrow’s Opportunities. Join William Blair, the Premier Global Partnership. William Blair is seeking graduate students to join our innovative technology team for a 12-week internship program during the summer of 2027. The program is designed to promote technology careers among high performing individuals from underrepresented backgrounds in the technology field, including but not limited to women currently enrolled, or intending to enroll, in a technology-related academic program. Selected participants will have a unique opportunity to explore areas of statistical analysis, machine learning, deep learning, generative AI, data science, data visualization, and data engineering while supporting mission-critical business use cases. The summer program also includes technical training, mentorship, community service, and social events. Responsibilities include but may not be limited to: Work on data science, machine learning, generative AI, and data engineering projects in Azure cloud and Spark environments Assemble large, complex datasets that meet functional and non-functional business requirements Analyze complex data sources to derive actionable business insights Develop, test, and deploy predictive models using machine learning algorithms and translate results into business recommendations Support AI use cases involving retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), document summarization, and information extraction Assist with prompt engineering and benchmark dataset development for AI applications Contribute to AI workflow automation and agent-based solutions Assess AI model performance, bias, and failure modes and document findings Prepare and validate data for AI applications, including embeddings, vector databases, and data quality processes Communicate results through reports, dashboards, presentations, and demonstrations Collaborate with business and technical stakeholders to identify and prioritize requirements Work with data and analytics experts to continuously improve enterprise data systems Required Technical Skills: Currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Statistics, Business Analytics, Data Science, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field, with anticipated graduation between December 2027 and June 2028 Experience using Python and/or R to manipulate data and derive insights from large datasets Working SQL knowledge and experience with relational and NoSQL databases Knowledge and experience of statistical analysis, data mining, and predictive modeling techniques Experience with machine learning, deep learning, and NLP concepts and frameworks Familiarity with social network analysis concepts Experience with data discovery, analytics, and visualization tools Experience or academic exposure to working with structured and unstructured data Preferred Technical Skills: Experience working with large and complex datasets through coursework, research, or projects Exposure to cloud platforms (Azure/AWS), big data technologies (Spark, Kafka), or workflow orchestration tools (Airflow, Azure Data Factory) Familiarity with Python data science and machine learning libraries such as Pandas, Scikit-learn, and PyTorch Coursework, research, projects, or internship experience involving machine learning, NLP, generative AI, or large language models Exposure to LLM APIs and frameworks such as LangChain, LlamaIndex, or Hugging Face Exposure to AI engineering and MLOps concepts, including containers, experiment tracking, and model deployment Understanding of Responsible AI principles, including data privacy, transparency, fairness, and human oversight A reasonable estimate of the current base salary range at time of posting is below. Base salary does not include other forms of compensation or benefits. Actual base salary within the specified range is based on several factors, including but not limited to applicant's skills, prior relevant experience, specific degrees and certifications, job re