Computer Science Intern - Climate Policy Program

SEI US seeks an intern who is currently an enrolled student in a Greater Boston area University (bachelor’s or graduate school program) with computer science experience and strong interest in environment and development issues to support our AI Policy Reader tool as part of the Climate Policy team. SEI US is a non-profit research organization focused on informing and engaging decision-makers on energy, water, and climate policy. As the in-house built AI Policy Reader tool demand continues to expand, our team seeks additional technical support in making optimal use of AI. This improved AI tool will dramatically improve the efficiency of research across the institute and drive innovative solutions to pressing environmental and global development challenges.

The AI Policy Reader tool leverages the best available Large Language Models (LLMs) to help researchers scan collections of large documents with targeted inquiries. Before the development of our tool, researchers at many think tanks like SEI spent countless hours and funding for research assistants to read through hundreds of long documents to examine, for example, the degree to which national climate policies are incorporating equity considerations. Cutting edge LLM can now dramatically enhance the efficiency of such tasks.

The tool is built entirely with Python. The app’s interface is built and hosted using an open-source framework called Streamlit. The code is hosted and shared using GitHub version control in a collaborative project.

Responsibilities

• Optimize the backend use of LLM APIs for particular use-cases within SEI.

• Expand the tool’s functionality; develop additional UI features that are in high demand by current researcher teams.

• Engineer a robust testing and deployment ecosystem that seamlessly rolls out updates and automates the validation of the tool's UI and AI-powered functionalities.

• Work with new and existing researchers to ensure they are making optimal use of the tool.

• Fix any bugs faced by users.

You must be an enrolled student in a Greater Boston area University  (bachelor’s or graduate school program.)

The successful applicant will have:

• Demonstrable proficiency in Python, GitHub, and integrating various APIs.
• Previous experience as a software developer including preferred 2-4 years of coding experience in Python.
• Pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science or a similar field. This can be replaced by a robust Github portfolio.
• Excellent collaboration and communications skills for interacting with users and working with our team.
• Ability to work in a team and in an international, multi-cultural environment. This includes working in multicultural contexts with researchers in our SEI offices worldwide.
  
• Desirable Qualifications
• Experience managing live websites (especially those that can be computationally intensive)
• Experience working with software clients
• Experience in product design
• Interest in climate, environment and development policy research and a passion for leveraging software technologies to advance climate policy research.

Who You Are
You are a computer science or equivalent student with an interest in environment and development issues. You should be highly competent in Python. In addition to being a software developer, you should be interested in product development. You should be interested in working with new and existing users, finding technical solutions for them, and/or shaping the future product vision. You should be excited to leverage cutting-edge AI technology to support environmental sustainability and package this technology in a user-friendly way for non-technical users.

We offer a salary competitive with other student positions on the Tufts and surrounding campuses in the Boston area. In addition, we offer sick time, as well as a welcoming work environment and a flexible work schedule.