Policy Internships
Policy internships give university students, recent graduates, and early-career switchers hands-on project experience, mentorship from working policy professionals, and, at many employers, a path toward a full-time offer. Openings are concentrated across Insurance and Technology & Software, with STAND TOGETHER, TikTok, and BerryDunn among the employers posting roles now.
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Showing 5 of 77+ Policy Internships
Key Responsibilities
- Explore cost-effective and scalable data collection strategies for real robot hardware, complemented by simulation where beneficial.
- Develop and evaluate training approaches that leverage heterogeneous and multimodal data to improve policy generalization across tasks and environments.
- Iteratively investigate the interplay between data collection and model training, evaluating how data design choices affect downstream policy performance.
- Implement baselines and perform benchmark evaluations on hardware and in simulation where applicable.
- Document findings and contribute to internal research reports.
- Contribute to the portfolio of patents and publish research results when applicable at top-tier conferences and journals in robotics and machine learning.
Minimum Qualifications
- Ph.D. or highly qualified M.S. candidate in robotics, computer science, or a related field.
- Experience with representation learning using multimodal robot data (e.g., RGB, RGB-D, and tactile).
- Experience with policy deployment on real-world robots.
- Experience with robotic simulators (e.g., Isaac Sim or MuJoCo).
- Proficient with Python, C++, and PyTorch.
- Experience with the Robot Operating System (ROS 2)
Bonus Qualifications
- Experience with in-hand dexterous manipulation on multi-fingered robot hands.
- Experience with scalable or low-cost data collection for robot learning (e.g., teleoperation systems, human demonstration capture, or wearable and handheld devices).
- Experience training robot policies on large-scale or heterogeneous datasets (e.g., human videos, cross-embodiment data, or mixed real and simulated data).
- Experience with multimodal sensing for manipulation, particularly tactile and force sensing.
- Experience with large vision-language-action (VLA) models or other robot foundation models.
- Experience with sim-to-real approaches.
Dexterous manipulation, Embodied AI, Robot Foundation models
Key Responsibilities
- Explore cost-effective and scalable data collection strategies for real robot hardware, complemented by simulation where beneficial.
- Develop and evaluate training approaches that leverage heterogeneous and multimodal data to improve policy generalization across tasks and environments.
- Iteratively investigate the interplay between data collection and model training, evaluating how data design choices affect downstream policy performance.
- Implement baselines and perform benchmark evaluations on hardware and in simulation where applicable.
- Document findings and contribute to internal research reports.
- Contribute to the portfolio of patents and publish research results when applicable at top-tier conferences and journals in robotics and machine learning.
Minimum Qualifications
- Ph.D. or highly qualified M.S. candidate in robotics, computer science, or a related field.
- Experience with representation learning using multimodal robot data (e.g., RGB, RGB-D, and tactile).
- Experience with policy deployment on real-world robots.
- Experience with robotic simulators (e.g., Isaac Sim or MuJoCo).
- Proficient with Python, C++, and PyTorch.
- Experience with the Robot Operating System (ROS 2)
Bonus Qualifications
- Experience with in-hand dexterous manipulation on multi-fingered robot hands.
- Experience with scalable or low-cost data collection for robot learning (e.g., teleoperation systems, human demonstration capture, or wearable and handheld devices).
- Experience training robot policies on large-scale or heterogeneous datasets (e.g., human videos, cross-embodiment data, or mixed real and simulated data).
- Experience with multimodal sensing for manipulation, particularly tactile and force sensing.
- Experience with large vision-language-action (VLA) models or other robot foundation models.
- Experience with sim-to-real approaches.
Dexterous manipulation, Embodied AI, Robot Foundation models
Policy Internship Market
Who's Hiring
- STAND TOGETHER17
- TikTok4
- BerryDunn3
- State of Utah3
- The Brookings Institution3
Top Industries Hiring
- Insurance
- Technology & Software
Tips for Your Policy Internship Search
Apply earlier than your peers do
Large federal agencies, think tanks, and policy organizations open summer internship applications the preceding fall, often in September or October. Smaller nonprofits and co-op programs post closer to start dates. Check for openings in both waves so you don't miss the early cohorts that fill before most students start looking.
Build a portfolio before your first application
Policy hiring teams expect limited work history at the intern level, so give them something else to assess. Document two or three research projects, policy memos, or published analyses that show your process and conclusions. Link to them wherever you can so a recruiter can evaluate your work in under two minutes.
Work your campus network and apply directly at the same time
Campus career fairs surface structured programs tied to your university, and professors or career center staff often know which employers recruit from your school before roles post publicly. Apply directly to organizations running smaller cohorts alongside your campus activity so you're reaching employers that don't show up at fairs.
Practice your policy interview format out loud
Policy intern screens often involve a written exercise, case discussion, or analytical prompt rather than a standard Q&A. Practice constructing a policy argument or summarizing research findings aloud, explaining your reasoning as you go. Interviewers weigh how you think through ambiguous problems as much as whether your final answer is correct.
Target structured programs built for people new to the field
Rotational and cohort programs at larger agencies, think tanks, and corporate public affairs teams are designed to train interns with limited professional experience. The Presidential Management Fellows pipeline is one well-known example. These programs recruit early and fill fast, so identify the ones that fit your background and apply in the first wave.
Set your work-type filter before you start
On-site roles are 23% of the policy internships listed here. Decide what you can realistically commit to before you start sorting through listings, then filter by location and work type on Migrate Mate so you're only reviewing roles you can actually take.
Policy Internships: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a policy internship?
Lead with coursework, personal projects, and a portfolio rather than work history, since hiring teams expect limited experience at the intern level. For policy candidates, a documented policy memo, research brief, or published analysis gives recruiters something concrete to assess. Pair direct applications with campus career fairs, where recruiters often move faster for students they meet in person.
Can a policy internship turn into a full-time job?
Many employers extend return offers to strong interns, but conversion is never guaranteed. What actually drives it is performance on real deliverables, available headcount on the team, and whether the return-offer decision comes before or after your graduation timeline. Position yourself by treating every project as a work sample, and stay in contact with your manager, but don't plan your job search around it.
When should I apply for policy internships?
Earlier than most candidates expect. Large government agencies, think tanks, and policy-focused organizations recruit summer interns the preceding fall, sometimes opening applications in September or October. Smaller nonprofits, advocacy groups, and co-op programs post much closer to their start dates, so openings appear year-round and a second application wave in late winter catches many of them.
Are policy internships paid?
Most professional policy internships in the United States are paid. Compensation varies by employer size, sector, and location, with federal government internships, large think tanks, and corporate public affairs teams generally offering structured stipends or hourly rates. Nonprofit and advocacy roles vary more widely. Where an employer discloses compensation, it appears in the listing.
What should a policy internship resume include?
Lead with projects, not work history. Include two or three documented projects that show your research and analytical process, naming the tools you used and linking to published analyses, policy briefs, or writing samples where the work is visible. Add relevant coursework in public policy, political science, economics, or law. Keep the resume to one page.
Are there remote policy internships?
Yes. Remote and hybrid roles make up 78% of the policy internship listings here, with the rest on-site. Remote cohorts fill fast because they draw a national applicant pool, so apply early once you decide what works for your schedule. Filter by work type to see only the arrangements you can actually commit to.
What is a Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) internship?
The Presidential Management Fellows program is a competitive two-year federal leadership development fellowship targeting recent graduate-degree holders who want to enter public policy and government service. It recruits early in the academic year, places fellows across federal agencies, and is widely considered one of the most direct entry points into a federal policy career. Apply in the first open window, as slots are limited.
Can international students get policy internships?
Yes. F-1 students can intern through CPT while enrolled or through OPT work authorization after finishing a degree, and the employer does not have to file anything for either, so many companies are open to international interns. Confirm your eligibility and timing with your university's international student office before accepting an offer.
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