Summer 2027 Knowledge Management Intern

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC); Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 52,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stipend included

Job summary

NRDC's Science Office is seeking a graduate intern to support the development of an information/knowledge management system. The intern will report to the Senior Director, Scientific Collaborations, in Washington, DC, onsite 3 days per week.

The Knowledge Management Intern will build knowledge systems around environmental science, creating talking points and AI-tool guidance. Strong science credentials and KM/IS interest are required.

Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in a graduate program.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate within a team.

Responsibilities

• Support the creation of a knowledge management system.
• Create a user-friendly system to maintain scientist-vetted talking points.
• Develop guidance for interrogating scientific literature using approved AI tools.
• Produce scientific literature syntheses and AI workflow SOPs.
• Suggest institutional integration of AI into workflow.

Skills

Strong written/verbal communication

Team collaboration

Initiative and creativity

Project management

Attention to detail

Education

Graduate program enrollment

Knowledge Management or Information Science degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Copilot / AI tools

Google Scholar / Zotero

Job description

NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) works to safeguard the Earth, its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. NRDC combines the power of more than 3 million members and online activists with the expertise of some 800 policy advocates, lawyers, scientists, and communication experts to confront the climate crisis, protect nature, ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. As an international nonprofit environmental organization, NRDC is working to address the world’s most urgent environmental challenges, and advance innovative, science-based, and enforceable solutions.

Since our founding in 1970, NRDC has helped craft and deliver many of America’s foundational environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. Today, we continue to lead in advancing and defending strong environmental protections at the local, state, federal and international levels, as well as through the marketplace. Our team works across the United States and around the world, from offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., as well as in Beijing, and New Delhi (a subsidiary of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd.).

Supported by our members and online activists, NRDC is driving impactful solutions that confront the climate crisis, defend nature and safeguard public health acrossAsia, Africa, and the Americas. At NRDC, we believe lasting change happens when people bring their talent, passion, and expertise together for a common purpose: to build a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient world. Learn more at nrdc.org.

Our interns play an active role on the front lines of the environmental movement. Over the course of an internship, NRDC interns work with lawyers, scientists, or policy analysts in different program areas and amass experience that they could not have obtained anywhere else. Interns also have access to various events to enhance their NRDC experience.

You can find examples of work by our interns on our Careers Page.

• Research, data collection, and analysis
• Writing and developing materials for state and federal campaigns
• Supporting with designing equitable policy solutions
• Copywriting and editing social media posts and supporting on marketing campaigns
• Brainstorming opportunities for process improvements, new vendors, partnerships, and engagement
• Project management of department and team-wide initiatives

Responsibilities

POSITION SUMMARY

NRDC's Science Office is seeking a graduate intern to support the creation of an information/knowledge management system. This intern will report into the Senior Director, Scientific Collaborations. This oppportunity is based out of our Washington, DC office and interns are expected to be onsite 3 days per week.

The Knowledge Management Intern will develop knowledge management systems around scientific understandings of environmental challenges and solutions. The intern is expected to create a user-friendly system to maintain and update scientist-vetted talking points on various topics and develop guidance for interrogating scientific literature using approved AI tools (e.g., Copilot). The intern may produce scientific literature syntheses, compilations of internal scientific thinking and systems for vetting that thinking, agents for connecting AI search tools with existing tools, AI SOPS/prompts, and recommendations for institutional incorporation of AI into workflow. This student should have strong credentials in 1) science and 2) information systems or knowledge management.

Requirements

Qualifications

• Must be currently enrolled in a graduate program
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Able to collaborate, within a team
• Initiative, proactiveness, and creativity
• Project management and/or problem solving skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Information Science or Knowledge Management degree/credential preferred, or a demonstrated interest in the subject
• Commitment to NRDC’s mission, values, and DEI principles

TOOLS

• Experience with Microsoft Copilot and/or AI Tools (RAG, Agents) is preferred.
• Experience using Google Scholar, Zotero (or a similar reference manager), and/or knowledge management tools is preferred.

DETAILS

• Duration: 10-weeks | Commitment: 35 hours/week
  • This intern must be able to commit to working one of the following sessions:
  • Summer Session 1: Monday May 24, 2027 - Friday July 30, 2027
  • Summer Session 2: Monday June 7, 2027 - Friday August 13, 2027
• Hybrid Work Model: Summer Interns are expected to be in office 3 days/week. We will not be able to offer relocation assistance for the summer.
• Stipend: This is a paid internship with a stipend equivalent of $10,000.00 paid bi-weekly over the course of the assignment.

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

The incumbent will not qualify as an employee, fellow, volunteer, or independent contractor of NRDC, nor will the incumbent be guaranteed employment at the end of the internship term.

NRDC operates under a hybrid work model. Interns are required to come into the office 3 days a week.

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination. Those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions. NRDC treats all vaccination-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws.

For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.