Research & Applications Intern

VALSEA; Singapore; On-site; SGD 17,000 - 29,000; Part time

Job summary

VALSEA is seeking a Research & Applications Intern who will dive into real startup work, not simulated exercises. You will collaborate with the founding team on market, provider, and competitor research, plus grant and accelerator submissions across multiple regions.

You will own trackers and submissions, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and verifiable data, while keeping Notion, docs, and onboarding materials up to date.

Qualifications

• Solid written English for applications and research briefs.
• Genuine interest in research and getting details right.
• Fast learner, able to pick up new tools, contexts, and priorities quickly.
• Comfortable leveraging AI tools like Claude or ChatGPT to work smarter and faster.
• Daily comfort with Google Sheets, Google Docs, and Notion.
• Coachable. Willing to be trained and take feedback in real time.

Responsibilities

• Research ASR and TTS providers, pricing, and APIs across 10+ language markets in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and MENA.
• Keep provider trackers accurate, sourced, and current so the team always knows where things stand.
• Research competitors, market trends, and whitespace opportunities across the regions VALSEA operates in.
• Support research for investor materials, partnership conversations, and other business questions as they come up.
• Research grant and accelerator programs across Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, and beyond.
• Draft and submit grant and accelerator applications end to end.
• Keep the operational backbone running: Notion pages, onboarding docs, and task tracking, so nothing gets lost as the team grows.
• Flag any unverified number or unsourced claim before it reaches a deck, application, or partner.

Skills

Written English

Research mindset

Fast learner

Attention to detail

Initiative & ownership

AI tools usage

Notion proficiency

Google Sheets

Google Docs

Tools

Claude

ChatGPT

Google Sheets

Google Docs

Notion

Job description

About The Role

We are looking for a Research & Applications Intern who wants to be inside the real work of a startup, not watching from the sidelines, but learning to run it.

About The Role

We are looking for a Research & Applications Intern who wants to be inside the real work of a startup, not watching from the sidelines, but learning to run it.

You will work directly alongside the founding team on market research, provider and competitor research, grant and accelerator applications, and the tracking systems that keep VALSEA's pipeline moving. This means real trackers, real applications, and real deadlines, not simulated exercises.

Ownership here isn't assigned, it's assumed. You will take a research tracker and make it yours, take a grant pipeline and make it yours, and see your applications go out under VALSEA's name. Your work will go into real submissions, real trackers, and real outcomes.

If you are someone who enjoys research, likes systems that stay clean and current, and wants to see your applications actually go out the door, this role will push you in the right ways.

What You Will Do

• Research ASR and TTS providers, pricing, and APIs across 10+ language markets in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and MENA.
• Keep provider trackers accurate, sourced, and current, so the team always knows where things stand.
• Research competitors, market trends, and whitespace opportunities across the regions VALSEA operates in.
• Support research for investor materials, partnership conversations, and other business questions as they come up.
• Research grant and accelerator programs across Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, and beyond.
• Draft and submit grant and accelerator applications end to end.
• Keep the operational backbone running: Notion pages, onboarding docs, and task tracking, so nothing gets lost as the team grows.
• Flag any unverified number or unsourced claim before it reaches a deck, application, or partner. A wrong number in the wrong place costs more than a slow one.

What We're Looking For

• Solid written English for applications and research briefs.
• Genuine interest in research and getting details right. Care matters just as much as speed.
• Fast learner, able to pick up new tools, contexts, and priorities quickly.
• Comfortable leveraging AI tools like Claude or ChatGPT to work smarter and faster.
• Daily comfort with Google Sheets, Google Docs, and Notion.
• Coachable. Willing to be trained and take feedback in real time.

Founding Mindset

• You think in terms of trackers built and applications submitted, not tasks checked off.
• You ask "is this actually verified?" before any number leaves your hands.
• You take ownership of follow through. Loose ends left alone don't close themselves.
• You balance speed with care, and initiative with checking your work.
• You proactively flag gaps instead of waiting to be asked.

Bonus

• Coursework in business, strategy, or analytics, or equivalent self-taught experience.
• Exposure to grant or accelerator application processes.
• Ability to hold several open tasks at once without dropping any of them.

What Success Looks Like

Within 4 to 6 weeks, you should be able to:

• Independently own at least one full research tracker, provider pricing or grants, with minimal oversight.
• Have submitted at least one grant or accelerator application largely on your own.
• Draft applications founders trust enough to submit with light or no edits.
• Free up the founding team's time because the research and applications pipeline runs itself.

What You'll Get

• Direct, regular contact with VALSEA's founding team, not a rotation program.
• Hands-on exposure to how a startup runs grants, market research, and pipeline tracking.
• A portfolio of shipped research and submitted applications, not just busywork.
• A strong foundation for roles in strategy, consulting, or startup operations.
• A team where the best idea wins, regardless of title.

Who This Is Not For

• If you want a narrowly scoped, single task internship.
• If you are uncomfortable with fast changing priorities.
• If you would rather be told exactly what to do than take initiative.
• If you are looking for a low intensity internship.

Who Will Thrive Here

• Organized self starters who like owning a broad, varied portfolio.
• Careful researchers who verify before they present.
• People who take satisfaction in seeing an application actually go out the door.
• Anyone who wants real startup exposure beyond just one function.

About VALSEA

VALSEA is speech intelligence infrastructure for Asia, built for the accents, dialects, and code-switching that every other AI ignores.