Business Analyst Intern

Presto Phoenix, Inc.; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 51,577,000 - 57,308,000; Full time

Job summary

Presto Phoenix, Inc. is seeking a student intern in San Diego to help evaluate how our AI performs in real-world restaurant environments. You’ll analyze drive-thru interactions, identify patterns, and surface opportunities to improve customer experience and business outcomes.

You will work 20–40 hours per week for 12–18 weeks, with on-site, remote, or hybrid options, depending on location and business needs. Mindset and curiosity matter more than specific experience.

Qualifications

• Highly analytical with strong attention to detail.
• Curious and proactive problem-solvers.
• Entrepreneurial in mindset; takes initiative and thinks beyond tasks.
• Strong communicators who can clearly document insights.
• Comfortable working independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Interested in AI, technology, and business operations.

Responsibilities

• Analyze real customer interactions and operational data 20–40 hours per week.
• Review drive-thru orders handled by our AI system across store locations.
• Monitor live AI sessions and escalate critical issues immediately.
• Track KPIs like NIR, AR, MBT, and AI efficiency to assess performance.
• Build reports summarizing trends, anomalies, and actionable insights.
• Document recurring issue patterns and route to appropriate teams.

Skills

Analytical

Data analysis

Communication

Entrepreneurial mindset

Job description

Presto is the leading Voice AI company for restaurant drive-thrus, operating at scale in complex, noisy, customer-facing environments. As the AI partner to more than a dozen of the most iconic American restaurant brands, Presto is building one of the most impactful real-world applications of AI that directly impacts revenue, labor efficiency, and a magical guest experience for millions of people.

AI is not a feature at Presto; it is the foundation of how we build, evaluate, and evolve our products. We operate at lightning-speed iteration cycles and are solving some of the hardest problems in Voice AI. We are backed by Remus Capital, were a Y Combinator company, and are headquartered in Silicon Valley.

This may not be the right fit for you if you are looking for a traditional 9-to-5 environment. We move at the pace of AI. Change is constant, and roadmaps evolve quickly. Presto is for builders, experimenters, and problem-solvers who thrive in ambiguity, learn continuously, and are excited to shape the future of real-world AI alongside a high-performance team.

The Opportunity

Presto is partnering with universities across the U.S. to place a select group of students inside restaurants where our AI system is already live.

This internship sits at the intersection of technology, business, and operations. You’ll play a critical role in helping us understand how our AI performs in real-world environments, analyzing interactions, identifying trends, and uncovering opportunities to improve both customer experience and business outcomes.

The intern must be located in San Diego, CA. This role can be performed on-site, remotely, or in a hybrid format, depending on location and business needs.

What You’ll Do

You’ll spend approximately 20-40 hours per week analyzing real customer interactions and operational data. Responsibilities include:

• Listen to and review drive-thru orders handled by our AI system across multiple store locations.
• Monitor live AI drive-thru sessions in real time and **escalate** critical issues to the appropriate teams immediately.
• Analyze interactions between customers, staff, and the AI to identify patterns, trends, and anomalies in ordering behavior.
• Track key performance metrics including Non-Intervention Rate (NIR), Automation Rate (AR), Menu Board Time (MBT), and AI Efficiency to assess AI Performance.
• Identify correlations between KPIs, such as the relationship between high MBT and low NIR, to surface root causes behind performance dips.
• Build and maintain structured reports summarizing trends, anomalies, and actionable insights for product and operations teams.
• Surface moments of friction, confusion, and success and document structured insights for product and operations teams.
• Track and document recurring issue patterns, including menu mismatches, ASR errors, modifier mapping, and POS injection, and route them to the appropriate teams for resolution.
• Evaluate upsell performance and customer response rates.
• Support menu accuracy efforts by flagging unavailable or misconfigured items for internal teams to resolve.
• Flag urgent issues in real time and communicate findings clearly across product, engineering, and operations teams.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product, engineering, and client-facing teams to surface and **escalate** issues.
• Serve as a point of contact between Presto, and restaurant partners, coordinating on menu gaps, item availability, and operational issues.
• Conduct occasional on-site visits to partner locations to observe AI performance and identify pain points firsthand.
• Other duties as assigned by leadership.

Your insights will directly inform how our AI systems evolve and improve.

What You’ll Gain

This is a hands-on opportunity to work on live AI systems at scale. You’ll gain exposure to:

• Real-world applications of AI in business operations.
• How technology companies partner with national brands.
• Data-driven decision making in fast-paced environments.
• Product feedback loops and iteration cycles.
• The connection between customer experience, operations, and revenue.

You won’t be working on hypothetical problems, your work will impact systems in production today.

Who We’re Looking For

We’re looking for students who are both analytical and entrepreneurial. People who enjoy digging into data and thinking critically about how to improve systems.

Ideal candidates are:

• Highly analytical with strong attention to detail.
• Curious and proactive problem-solvers.
• Entrepreneurial in mindset. You take initiative and think beyond the task.
• Strong communicators who can clearly document insights.
• Comfortable working independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Interested in AI, technology, and business operations.

All majors are encouraged to apply. Mindset and curiosity matter more than specific experience.

Compensation

Hourly pay in the $18/hour - $20/hour range.

The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries across U.S. locations. Individual pay may vary based on location, skills, experience, and education. It is not typical for candidates to be hired at the top of the range.

Details

• Hours: 20-40 hours per week, flexible around class schedules
• Duration: 12–18 weeks (with potential to extend)

We value people from all walks of life and are committed to creating an inclusive hiring process and work environment. We especially encourage historically underrepresented candidates to apply. Presto is an equal opportunity employer.