Software Engineer Intern (Summer 2027)

Software Engineer · Intern · Internship

San FranciscoUSD 116k – 125k4d ago
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Role

What you'll do.

Join Zip as a Software Engineer Intern during Summer 2027 and contribute to an AI-powered enterprise procurement platform trusted by industry leaders like T-Mobile, OpenAI, and AMD. You'll design and build highly reliable, scalable products alongside a team of experienced engineers from top tech companies, working with Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, React, and GraphQL to ship real features used by millions. This full-time, hybrid internship offers mentorship, hands-on experience with modern backend and frontend architectures, and the opportunity to make immediate impact at a Y Combinator-backed fintech company valued at $2.2 billion.

Responsibilities

  • Design and Build Reliable Products: Architect and develop highly reliable and resilient products and features that power Zip's AI-driven enterprise procurement platform, ensuring systems can handle complex workflows at scale
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with product managers, design teams, and customer-facing teams to understand requirements, gather feedback, and ship thoughtful solutions that address real user needs
  • Write High-Quality Code: Produce clean, extensible, and maintainable code that follows best practices and architectural patterns, making contributions that other engineers can build upon
  • Frontend Development: Design and build scalable frontend applications and React components with TypeScript that provide intuitive user experiences and handle complex state management
  • Backend API Development: Design and implement GraphQL and REST APIs using Python that drive existing and new features for Zip's web-based procurement platform
  • Scope Technical Challenges: Take ownership of problem definition, break down complex technical challenges into manageable components, and propose effective solutions with guidance from senior engineers

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • Full-stack Web Development

    Ability to work across the entire application stack, from designing GraphQL APIs to building React frontend components with TypeScript

  • Scalable Architecture Design

    Understanding of designing reliable, resilient systems that can handle enterprise-scale procurement workflows and high transaction volumes

  • Code Quality & Best Practices

    Commitment to writing maintainable, well-documented, extensible code following SOLID principles and industry standards

  • Rapid Learning

    Ability to quickly acquire proficiency in new frameworks, programming languages, and architectural patterns as project requirements evolve

Education

  • Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science

    BS or MS in Computer Science with expected graduation between December 2027 and June 2028

  • Technical Coursework Foundation

    Academic background in technical fields involving coding such as mathematics, physics, or engineering disciplines

Experience

  • Web Application Development Experience

    Demonstrated experience building web applications with frontend and backend components

  • API Development

    Hands-on experience designing and implementing APIs for web-based applications

  • Startup Environment Exposure

    Prior internship or professional experience in a high-growth startup with fast-paced development cycles and rapid iteration

Skills

Required

  • Web Application Development

    Hands-on experience building web applications and understanding modern frontend architecture patterns, component design, and user interaction flows

  • API Development

    Experience designing and implementing REST or GraphQL APIs that power web applications and integrations

  • Python

    Proficiency in Python for backend development, data manipulation, and server-side logic implementation

  • JavaScript/TypeScript

    Strong command of JavaScript or TypeScript for frontend and backend development with modern ES6+ features

  • React

    Experience building interactive user interfaces with React, including component lifecycle, hooks, and state management

  • GraphQL

    Understanding of GraphQL query language and schema design for efficient data fetching and API development

Preferred

  • Database Design & Optimization

    Nice to have

    Experience designing efficient database schemas and optimizing queries for scalable applications

  • Cloud Platforms

    Nice to have

    Familiarity with AWS or other cloud infrastructure platforms for deployment and scaling applications

  • Startup Experience

    Nice to have

    Prior internship or work experience in a high-growth startup environment with fast-paced development cycles

  • System Design

    Nice to have

    Understanding of scalable architecture patterns, microservices, and designing resilient systems

  • CI/CD & DevOps

    Nice to have

    Familiarity with continuous integration, deployment pipelines, and development environment setup

  • Generative AI Integration

    Nice to have

    Experience or interest in integrating LLMs and AI agents into applications

Tech stack

Languages

PythonJavaScriptTypeScript

Frameworks

ReactGraphQL

Databases

PostgreSQL or similar relational databases

Tools

AWSGit/GitHub

Other

Generative AI/LLM Integration

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·USD 116,480 – 124,800

Benefits

  • Catered Meals

    Complimentary catered breakfasts, lunches, and dinners provided throughout the internship to support focus on work

  • Team Building & Social Events

    Regular team building activities and happy hour events to foster connections and community within the organization

  • Apple Equipment

    Provision of Apple equipment including MacBook and accessories to support development work

  • Housing Stipend

    Internship housing stipend to support relocating interns in the San Francisco Bay Area

  • Mentorship & Professional Development

    Access to experienced engineers from top tech companies (Apple, Airbnb, Meta) who provide constant guidance, code reviews, and learning opportunities

  • Real Impact Projects

    Opportunity to work on projects with immediate real-world impact—previous interns' work is actively used across the organization and by end users

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Initial Application Review

    Submit your resume, cover letter, and portfolio demonstrating web development projects. Highlight any startups experience, GitHub contributions, or notable technical projects

  2. 02

    Technical Phone Screen

    Initial conversation with a recruiter or engineer to discuss your background, coding experience, and familiarity with Python, React, TypeScript, and GraphQL

  3. 03

    Technical Assessment or Take-Home

    Complete a coding challenge or take-home project involving API design, frontend component building, or full-stack feature implementation to assess technical capabilities

  4. 04

    Engineering Interview

    Technical interview with one or more engineers focusing on system design, API architecture, component design patterns, and approach to solving complex problems

  5. 05

    Cross-Functional Interview

    Conversation with product or team members to assess communication skills, collaboration style, and ability to work in a cross-functional environment

  6. 06

    Offer & Onboarding

    Receive offer details including compensation, benefits, internship dates (May-August or June-September 2027), and hybrid work arrangement details for San Francisco HQ

Full posting

Original listing.

About Zip

Zip is the AI platform for enterprise procurement — built for humans and agents working together. By orchestrating procurement across teams, tools, and suppliers with the help of AI agents, companies can secure the resources they need to innovate faster than ever before.

The world’s most influential enterprises trust Zip, including T-Mobile, OpenAI, AMD, Mars, Dollar Tree, and more. Together they’ve saved over $8 billion and processed over $500 billion in spend. Zip’s team includes product leaders from Apple, Airbnb, and Meta, as well as former procurement leaders from United Health, Sanofi, MGM Resorts, Discover, and NASA.

Backed by Adams Street, Alkeon, BOND, CRV, DST, Tiger Global, and Y Combinator, Zip has raised $371 million, most recently at a $2.2 billion valuation and has been recognized by Forbes Fintech 50, Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, Inc. Best in Business, and LinkedIn Top Startups.

Your Role

As a Software Engineer Intern, you will be shown how to build Zip’s core products and architecture. You will ship features that will be immediately used by our users and will work with a tight-knit team that values open communication and cross-functional collaboration. We move quickly to solve a wide range of complex technical and product challenges. While we are an experienced team that can provide constant guidance and mentorship, we value engineers who can scope and solve difficult technical challenges.

Previous interns have worked on:

  • Internal AI bot: a bot that uses generative AI to aggregate info from various sources (e.g. google doc, notion, Slack, Zip help site) and generate answers - it’s now actively used by both engineering and customer teams at Zip

  • Devbox: building a prototype that bootstraps the development environment in AWS cloud for all zip engineers - this project is now being used by 80+ engineers

  • Virtual Card Auto Lock: a feature that automatically locks virtual cards based on various policies, such as after a certain expiration date, when reported lost, or in the event of an overdraft. This feature, along with a self-serve onboarding tool, is now live in our virtual card product

You Will

  • Design and build highly reliable and resilient products and features

  • Work closely with cross-functional product and customer-facing teams to understand requirements and ship thoughtful solutions

  • Write high-quality, extensible, and maintainable code

  • Design and build scalable frontend applications and components

  • Design and build APIs to drive existing and new features for a web-based application

Qualifications

  • Pursuing a BS or MS in Computer Science or a related technical field involving coding (e.g. physics or math), with an expected graduation date between December 2027 - June 2028

  • Experience with web applications and API development. At Zip, our stack includes Python, Javascript/TypeScript, React, and GraphQL

  • Ability and interest to quickly learn new frameworks, architecture patterns, and programming languages as needed

  • Fantastic written and verbal communication skills

  • Prior internship in a high-growth startup environment

Our internships are full-time and hybrid, based in our San Francisco HQ office. Our Summer 2027 internship runs either May–August or June–September.

The estimated hourly pay range for this role is $56 - 60 per hour.

Perks & Benefits

At Zip, we’re committed to providing our employees with everything they need to do their best work

  • 🍽️ Catered breakfasts, lunches & dinners

  • 🚠 Team building events & happy hours

  • 💻 Apple equipment

  • 🏠 Intern Housing stipend

We're looking to hire Zipsters and that means hiring people who take ownership, communicate openly, have an underdog mindset, and are excited to increase the pace of innovation for every business in the world. We encourage all candidates to apply even if your experience doesn't exactly match up to our job description. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workspace where everyone (regardless of age, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and more) feels like they belong. We look forward to hearing from you!

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