PhD Machine Learning Internship 2027 (USA)

Pinterest; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 123,000 - 147,000; Full time

Job summary

Pinterest is offering a 12-week paid machine learning internship with fixed start dates in May or June 2027. The role can be remote or hybrid in San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York, or Seattle, and focuses on building personalized experiences with ML and AI across areas like image recognition, recommender systems, NLP, and big data analytics.

As an intern, you’ll own projects end-to-end, work with production ML systems, prototype AI tools, validate outputs, and learn from mentors in a

Qualifications

• PhD candidate in CS/ML/NLP/Statistics or related field.
• Proficiency in at least one systems language (Java, C++, Python) or ML framework (TensorFlow, PyTorch, MLFlow).
• Strong autonomy with AI-native engineering and agent-first tool design.
• Proven ability to learn new tools independently and iterate on prompts.
• Experience in research and solving analytical problems.

Responsibilities

• Lead or contribute to cutting-edge ML/AI research applicable to Pinterest.
• Develop production ML systems, including data pipelines and model training.
• Prototype and experiment with frontier AI tools and agents.
• Validate AI outputs with rigorous testing and code reviews.
• Collaborate with teammates and mentors to deliver results.

Skills

Java

C++

Python

TensorFlow

PyTorch

MLFlow

AI-native engineering

Prompt refinement

Research experience

Strong communicator

Education

PhD candidate in CS/ML/NLP/Statistics

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

MLFlow

Java

C++

Python

Job description

About Pinterest

Millions of people around the world come to our platform to find creative ideas, dream about new possibilities and plan for memories that will last a lifetime. At Pinterest, we’re on a mission to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love, and that starts with the people behind the product. Discover a career where you ignite innovation for millions, transform passion into growth opportunities, celebrate each other’s unique experiences and embrace the flexibility to do your best work. Creating a career you love? It’s Possible. At Pinterest, AI isn’t just a feature, it’s a powerful partner that augments our creativity and amplifies our impact, and we’re looking for candidates who are excited to be a part of that. To get a complete picture of your experience and abilities, we’ll explore your foundational skills and how you collaborate with AI. Through our interview process, what matters most is that you can always explain your approach, showing us not just what you know, but how you think. You can read more about our AI interview philosophy and how we use AI in our recruiting process here. With more than 640 million users around the world and 300 billion ideas saved, Pinterest Machine Learning interns help build personalized experiences to help Pinners create a life they love. At Pinterest, you’ll experience hands-on access to an incredible vault of data and contribute large-scale recommendation systems in ways you won’t find anywhere else. As a machine learning intern at Pinterest, you'll work on tackling new challenges in machine learning and artificial intelligence. You'll conduct research that can be applied across Pinterest engineering teams and engage in external collaborations and mentoring, while also performing research in any of the following areas: image recognition, user modeling, recommender systems, search, ads, ranking, natural language processing, neural networks, personalization, graph representation learning, and big data analytics. Internships are 12 weeks paid, with fixed start dates in May or June to accommodate varying school calendars. Depending on the team, our summer internships will be located either remote or hybrid in San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York or Seattle offices.

We Offer 2 Internship Start Dates

• May 17, 2027 - August 6, 2027
• June 14, 2027 - September 3, 2027

What You’ll Do

• Lead your own project start to finish to contribute in cutting-edge research in machine learning and artificial intelligence that can be applied to Pinterest problems
• Gain hands-on experience with production ML systems, including algorithmic research, infrastructure, data engineering, training, inference, and product, to deliver innovative solutions. You will be exposed to full-stack production ML systems.
• Leverage frontier AI tools and agents to accelerate engineering implementation, including prototyping and experimentation work.
• Validate AI-generated outputs through testing, code review, and critical thinking, ensuring solutions are accurate, maintainable, secure, and aligned with team standards.
• Use AI to better understand unfamiliar code, investigate bugs, and summarize technical context or documentation.
• Contribute in cutting-edge research in machine learning and artificial intelligence that can be applied to Pinterest problems
• Write clean, efficient, and sustainable code
• Take proactive ownership over the completion and quality of your tasks and project with minimal guidance from your mentor, manager, and peers

What We’re Looking For

• Working towards a PhD in Computer Science, ML, NLP, Statistics, Information Sciences or related field
• Proficiency in at least one systems language (Java, C++, Python) or one ML framework (Tensorflow, Pytorch, MLFlow)
• Proficiency with AI-native engineering, including the design of agent-friendly codebases.
• High degree of autonomy in learning new agent-first development tools.
• Strong critical thinking when working with AI-generated suggestions, with a clear approach to validating correctness, performance, security, and maintainability.
• Comfort iterating on prompts, refining workflows, and adapting AI-assisted approaches based on the problem, context, and constraints.
• Experience in research and in solving analytical problems
• Strong communicator and team player. Being able to find solutions for open-ended problems.
• Preferred Qualifications:
• Publications in machine learning, AI, data science, data analytics, statistics, or related technical fields
• Interest in research and in applying ML to impactful real-world problems on the Pinterest product

Why Intern at Pinterest?

• Meaningful Work: Contribute to projects that impact millions of users worldwide.
• Mentorship: Learn from and be guided by experienced engineers and researchers in the field.
• Growth and Development: Participate in professional development workshops and networking events to build your skills and connections

In-Office Requirement Statement

• We let the type of work you do guide the collaboration style. That means we’re not always working in an office, but we continue to gather for key moments of collaboration and connection
• This role may require you to be located near an office for in-person collaboration, and therefore may need to be located a commutable distance from one of our Pinterest offices.

US based applicants only

The salary for this position is $12,100 monthly.

Information regarding the culture at Pinterest and benefits available for this position can be found here.

Our Commitment To Inclusion

Pinterest is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. We want to have the best qualified people in every job. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, status as a protected veteran, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member) or any other consideration made unlawful by applicable federal, state or local laws. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you require a medical or religious accommodation during the job application process, please complete this form for support.