Internship: Research Intern – Denver

Job Description

Internship: Research Intern – Denver | State of Colorado

The Tone:
This is a temporary internship with the State of Colorado, located in Denver. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is dedicated to enhancing safety and improving travel experiences for all Coloradans and visitors. Within CDOT, the Office of Applied Research focuses on developing and implementing innovative methods and actionable knowledge to save lives, time, and money, while preserving the environment. This role is crucial for transforming the flow of research information into streamlined, accessible knowledge, directly impacting policy development and operational efficiency.

The TL;DR
• Role: Internship
• Type: Temporary (9 months or less)
• Location: Denver, CO (Hybrid)
• Pay: $19.16–$26.77 hourly
• Team: Office of Applied Research within CDOT’s Chief Engineer’s Office
• Mission: Develop tools and manage information to streamline the flow of research results and requests within CDOT, turning “information overload” into actionable knowledge.
• Tech Stack: Google tools (AppSheet, Apps Script, Vertex AI, BigQuery), SQL, Generative AI, Microsoft Office suite, Google mail

What You’ll Actually Do
• Knowledge Flow Investigation: Investigate and map the distribution of high-value research knowledge, including national reports and university results, through the department to decision-makers.
• Collaboration Network Analysis: Work with CDOT staff to identify internal subject matter experts and expand departmental collaboration networks.
• Process Bottleneck Identification: Identify and address barriers in knowledge processes, transforming the reception and processing of surveys, announcements, and proposals into a streamlined pipeline.
• Internal Application Development: Own the continuing development and deployment of an internal application using Google tools, scaling a system to ingest research sources and intelligently match them with internal experts.
• Application Adoption and Extension: Apply design thinking and change management principles to ensure the application’s adoption, facilitate stakeholder feedback, and explore extensions such as evolving it into a dynamic directory of organizational skills.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Candidates must be a recent college graduate (within the past three years) or a current college student pursuing an Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD degree in information science, computer science, engineering, or a related technical field from an accredited U.S. institution. Alternatively, applicants may be a certified participant in the Colorado Refugee Services Program.
• Experience: Demonstrated comfort in interviewing internal stakeholders to gather requirements and presenting progress to leadership. Proven ability to manage a product roadmap independently and prioritize features based on user feedback.
• Skills: Strong capabilities in process mapping to visualize complex information flows, technical writing for clear documentation, and a design thinking mindset focused on user experience. Interest in change management principles and excellent interpersonal and verbal communication skills.
• Bonus: Completion of two or more years from an accredited university in a technical field. Experience with Google Workspace tools, including AppSheet and Google Apps Script, and familiarity with SQL or BigQuery for data management. Understanding of how to utilize Generative AI (like Vertex AI) for text analysis, and familiarity with Microsoft Office suite and Google Mail.