AI Automation and NLP Engineering Intern

Job Posting Organization:
The internship is offered by the Environment and Development Division of the United Nations, which focuses on sustainable development and environmental issues. The UN was established in 1945 and operates in multiple countries worldwide, with a mission to promote peace, security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security, and cooperation among nations. The organization employs thousands of individuals across various sectors and has numerous specialized agencies and programs dedicated to different aspects of global development.

Job Overview:
The AI Automation and NLP Engineering Intern will support an internal automation platform that transforms United Nations meeting media into structured, verified reporting and analytical outputs. This role is crucial for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the UN's reporting processes through the application of advanced technologies such as large-language-model inference. The intern will work closely with a staff member in the department, contributing to a mature Python codebase and engaging in various tasks that enhance software quality assurance and tooling development. The internship is designed for a duration of 4 to 6 months, requiring full-time commitment, and offers the flexibility of a remote work arrangement, subject to approval.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The intern's responsibilities will include:

• Authoring and extending automated tests (unit and mocked-LLM tests) to improve test coverage across priority modules and enhance the robustness of data-extraction paths (30% of time).
• Designing and executing structured model and prompt evaluations, which involve tasks such as machine-translation selection and speech-recognition error detection, including the creation of labelled gold sets for measurable results (25% of time).
• Building and extending deterministic extraction tooling, focusing on pattern and catalog matching as well as fuzzy-match resolvers, in line with the project's principles (25% of time).
• Scaffolding new modules and utilities within the existing architecture, improving documentation, and enhancing developer tooling (20% of time). Daily responsibilities may vary based on the intern's background and the internship duration.

Required Qualifications:
To qualify for this internship, applicants must meet one of the following criteria: (a) Be enrolled in or have completed a graduate program related to computer science, data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, computational linguistics, software engineering, or related fields; or (b) Be enrolled in or have completed the final year of a bachelor's degree program in the same fields. Additionally, strong proficiency in Python, experience with testing frameworks (such as pytest), and version control (git) are essential. A foundational understanding of natural-language processing and large-language-model prompting and evaluation is also required. Familiarity with local LLMs and experience with structured model outputs are considered assets.

Educational Background:
Candidates should have a graduate degree or be in the final year of a bachelor's degree program in relevant fields such as computer science, data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, computational linguistics, or software engineering. This educational background is crucial for understanding the technical aspects of the internship and contributing effectively to the projects.

Experience:
The internship is designed for individuals who may not have extensive professional experience but possess a strong academic background in relevant fields. Any practical experience with Python programming, natural-language processing, or software development will be beneficial, but the primary focus is on candidates who are eager to learn and contribute to the UN's initiatives.

Languages:
Fluency in spoken and written English is mandatory for this internship, as it is one of the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Knowledge of another language used in the Asia-Pacific region, such as Chinese, Vietnamese, Bahasa Indonesia, Hindi, Urdu, or Thai, is considered an asset and may enhance the candidate's profile.

Additional Notes:
This internship is unpaid, and interns are responsible for their own travel, visa, accommodation, and living expenses. Interns who are not citizens or permanent residents of Thailand may need to secure the appropriate visa and work authorization before starting the internship. The United Nations does not charge any fees during the recruitment process, ensuring a fair and transparent selection process.