AI Specialist Intern – Entry Level Sales Program 2026

Leadingtalent; Montreal (administrative region); On-site; CAD 20,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

Leadingtalent is looking for an AI Specialist intern for summer 2026 in Montreal, Canada. You'll collaborate with clients and teams to develop AI solutions using the watsonx platform. Key duties include creating AI pilots and optimizing performance.

This role requires technical education, such as a Bachelor's degree in a relevant field, and knowledge in programming and AI technologies. The internship fosters a growth mindset and involves up to 50% travel.

Qualifications

• Must be an actively enrolled undergraduate or graduate university student.
• Knowledge of programming languages such as Python, R, Java.
• Conversant with AI technology and industry trends.

Responsibilities

• Develop pilots to validate feasibility of AI solutions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement and optimize AI solutions.
• Stay updated with the latest trends in AI and associated technologies.

Skills

Customer engagement

Analytic skills

Problem solving

Curiosity

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, AI, Data Science, or related field

High School Diploma/GED

Tools

Python

R

Java

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Hugging Face

Job description

Job Overview

Technology sales at IBM is evolving its way of working to break beyond boundaries with innovative approaches. Preferring to show vs. tell, we’re looking for undergraduate and graduate students who want to combine their technical interests and education with the people skills needed to prospect and co‑create with customers, partners, and colleagues on solutions to our clients’ most complex business challenges.

This is a summer 2026 position. As an AI Specialist intern within our Client Engineering team, you’ll harness your unique skills and perspectives to engage in the development and deployment of AI systems using our watsonx platform for pilots that lead to deployment of enterprise‑scale solutions at start‑up speed.

Responsibilities

Being an AI Specialist intern at IBM is not just a job title – it’s a mindset. You’ll leverage the watsonx platform to assist in co‑creating AI value with clients, focusing on technology patterns to enhance repeatability and delight clients.

• Pre and Post Sales Pilots: Develop pilots to validate and highlight the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed AI solutions. Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to implement and iterate on pilots, ensuring alignment with customer requirements and expectations while adhering to best practices and quality standards.
• Solution Optimization and Performance: Continuously monitor and optimize the performance of AI solutions, including foundation models and large language models. Identify opportunities to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and speed through fine‑tuning, algorithmic improvements, or infrastructure optimization to meet performance requirements.
• Collaboration and Project Management: Collaborate with cross‑functional teams, including AI engineers, platforms engineers, and members of the sales team, to ensure smooth execution and successful delivery of AI solutions. Effectively communicate project progress, risks, and dependencies to stakeholders.
• Industry Trends and Innovation: Stay up to date with the latest trends and advancements in AI, foundation models, and large language models. Evaluate emerging technologies, tools, and frameworks to assess their potential impact on solution design and implementation.

Qualifications

• Confidence to contact and engage potential new customers and deliver an elevated experience.
• Motivation to achieve sales, business objectives and high client satisfaction.
• Strong analytic, problem solving, and troubleshooting skills combined with an agile process.
• Embrace curiosity and a growth mindset.
• Readiness to travel up to 50% annually.

Required Education

High School Diploma/GED

Preferred Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Required Technical and Professional Expertise

• Actively Enrolled: Registered undergraduate or graduate university student.
• Education: Seeking B.S. or M.S. degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Math, Statistics, Engineering or equivalent technical degree/experience.
• Programming: Knowledge in Python, R, Java or similar language.
• Tech Savvy: Conversant about AI technology, latest industry trends and how it is being applied to address business challenges.
• Team Player: Demonstrates team collaboration and can navigate different communication styles.
• Excellent Communication Skills: Possess verbal, written, and interpersonal skills that are engaging, compelling and influential.
• Self‑Starter: Motivated to work with clients and can lead projects independently.

Preferred Technical and Professional Experience

• Knowledge of AI frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras or Hugging Face.
• Experience with LLM and foundational models.
• Understanding in the usage of libraries such as SciKit Learn, Pandas, Matplotlib, etc.
• Familiarity with open source technology, automation and legacy coding (Cobol, C, Assembler) is a plus.

Position Details

Summer 2026 Internship (6 months). Travel up to 50% of the time.

Equal Opportunity Employer

IBM is proud to be an equal‑opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

Eligibility

• Must have the ability to work in Canada without sponsorship.
• This role will involve working with technology that is covered by Export Regulations sanctions. If you are a Foreign National from any of the following U.S. sanctioned countries (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions of Ukraine) on a work permit, you are not eligible for employment in this position.