About the role#
As a Software Developer Intern, you will join our engineering team to build technology that helps developers understand, evaluate, optimize, and operate AI agents at scale. You will work alongside experienced engineers on systems that support the development of agentic AI applications, including observability, benchmarking, and automation. This role is for students interested in the intersection of AI, cloud infrastructure, and developer platforms. You will gain hands-on experience building production software and solving engineering problems associated with running AI systems.
What you'll do#
- Design, develop, test, and debug SDKs, APIs, backend services, developer tools, and user interfaces for AI applications.
- Build capabilities to help developers observe, evaluate, benchmark, debug, and optimize AI agents.
- Analyze agent behavior, including tool usage, responses, execution traces, latency, quality, and cost.
- Develop services and APIs that collect and process telemetry and evaluation data.
- Contribute to frameworks and SDKs that integrate with different agent runtimes, models, and AI development frameworks.
- Help build automated evaluation and testing systems, including test-case generation, behavioral metrics, and performance benchmarking.
- Explore techniques for improving agent quality through prompt optimization, model selection, and automated experimentation.
- Work across front-end, back-end, and infrastructure components.
- Use programming languages such as Python, Go, Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, C++, or Rust.
- Work with cloud-native technologies including Docker, Kubernetes, REST APIs, and observability frameworks.
- Use Git, CI/CD systems, and modern software-development tools to deliver production-quality software.
- Participate in code reviews, technical design discussions, and Agile development.
What you'll need#
- Coursework or project experience in software development using at least one programming language.
- Familiarity with core computer science concepts like data structures, algorithms, APIs, debugging, and software design.
- Experience building software using Python, Java, Go, JavaScript/TypeScript, C++, or Rust.
- Experience using Git or another version-control system.
- Familiarity with front-end, back-end, distributed systems, or cloud application development.
- Interest in AI systems, large language models, AI agents, cloud computing, or developer tooling.
- Analytical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills.
- Ability to collaborate effectively and learn new technologies quickly.
- Experience experimenting with large language models, AI agents, or generative AI applications is a plus.
- Familiarity with agent or LLM development frameworks like LangGraph, LangChain, or LlamaIndex.
- Exposure to LLM evaluation, tracing, observability, benchmarking, prompt engineering, or model optimization.
- Experience with REST APIs, backend services, or distributed applications.
- Familiarity with cloud platforms such as IBM Cloud, AWS, Azure, or GCP.
- Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, or other container and orchestration technologies.
- Familiarity with observability technologies like OpenTelemetry, tracing, metrics, or logging systems.
- Experience with relational or NoSQL databases and CI/CD pipelines.
- Personal, research, or open-source projects demonstrating technical curiosity.
Location & details#
- Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- Modality: Hybrid.
- Term: Summer 2027.
- Status: Full-time, paid internship.
- Majors: Computer Science or Computer Engineering.
- Program Dates: Semester system students (May 24, 2027 - August 13, 2027); Quarter system students (June 14, 2027 - September 3, 2027).
About IBM
IBM provides IT services and consulting to a global client base. The company develops technology solutions across areas such as cloud computing, security, analytics, and infrastructure. It operates as a public organization with more than 10,001 employees. The corporate headquarters are located in Armonk, New York.
How to get in at IBM
Applying early at IBM gives you a measurable advantage because recruiters review applications as they arrive. Intern Insider sends an instant alert the moment a role matching your target is published, so you can submit your materials before the pile grows. Being among the first candidates seen helps you stand out in a large applicant pool. You can also improve your response rates by reaching out to the recruiters behind the roles directly. Intern Insider surfaces the specific contacts for IBM positions so you can ask about the role or a referral. This direct approach often works better than sending your resume into a queue.
