AI Strategy & Research Intern

This summer, we are inviting 1-2 motivated students or emerging professionals to join our team as an AI Strategy and Research Intern. You'll work directly with our lead consultant on real client-facing projects, research, and communications, gaining hands-on experience at the intersection of AI literacy, data ethics, and community-centered tech.

What you'll do

1. Support lead consultant in client acquisition
2. Research grant funding opportunities aligned with ethical AI, digital equity, and community technology including actively supporting grant writing and application development
3. Assist in developing AI literacy materials, workshops, or toolkits for frontline communities
4. Contribute to internal communications, social media, or website content
5. Participate in client calls and consulting workflows with mentorship throughout

Who we're looking for

We're looking for someone who is curious about AI's social impact, comfortable with research and writing, and excited to work in a values-driven, community-rooted environment. Background or interest in social justice, nonprofit work, data, communications, or community organizing is a plus.

What Interns Receive

Letter of Recommendation

• A personalized, detailed letter from Sonoran AI Consulting's founder & lead consultant upon successful completion of the internship.

End-of-Summer Stipend

• A stipend is available subject to grant funding secured during the internship period. Grant research and application support is a core part of this role, and interns actively participate in identifying funding that makes the stipend possible.

Official Consulting Title

• Interns carry the title of Junior AI Strategy Consultant throughout the engagement, for use on LinkedIn, resumes, and professional portfolios.

Mentorship

• Direct, ongoing mentorship from a practitioner with backgrounds in data analytics, qualitative research, community design, and AI strategy.

Portfolio Work

• Real deliverables that can be featured in your professional portfolio.

Letter of Recommendation/Reference

• Upon successful completion of the internship, you will receive a personalized, detailed letter of recommendation from Sonoran AI Consulting's lead consultant. The letter will speak specifically to the work you contributed, the skills you demonstrated, and your growth over the course of the summer, not a generic template. This is a letter written for you, about you, that you can use for graduate school applications, job searches, fellowships, or any professional opportunity you're pursuing.

End-of-Summer Stipend

• A stipend is available subject to grant funding secured during the internship period. Because grant research and application support is a core part of this role, interns actively participate in identifying and pursuing the funding that makes the stipend possible. This is intentional. It means you'll finish the summer with real grant writing experience on your resume and a direct stake in the work. If funding is secured, the stipend will be disbursed at the close of the internship.

Official Consulting Title

• You won't be listed anywhere as "intern." Throughout the engagement, you will carry the title of Junior AI Strategy Consultant on your LinkedIn, your resume, your email signature, and any portfolio materials you produce. That title reflects the real nature of the work: you are a contributor to consulting projects, not a coffee runner or a shadow.

Mentorship

• You will have direct, ongoing access to our lead consultant throughout the summer. That means real conversations about the work, honest feedback on your output, and support in connecting what you're doing to where you want to go. Our practice sits at the intersection of data analytics, qualitative research, community-centered design, and AI ethics whatever your background, there is something here to build on.

Hands-On Portfolio Work

• Every project you touch this summer is something you can show. We don't assign busywork. Interns contribute to live deliverables: readiness assessments, strategy documents, literacy materials, grant applications, research briefs - the kind of work that demonstrates real capability to future employers, schools, or collaborators. You will leave with a body of work, not just a line on a resume.

Professional Network and Community

• Working inside a mission-driven consulting practice means you'll be exposed to the broader ecosystem of nonprofits, community organizations, and ethical tech advocates that Sonoran AI Consulting serves and collaborates with. We will make introductions where they make sense and support you in building relationships that extend beyond the summer.