Summer 2026 PhD Internship, Applied AI

Who You Are:

• A researcher who ships: You're excited about advancing AI research, but you also want to see your work used in production. You're comfortable moving between theoretical exploration and practical implementation, and you understand that the best research often comes from real-world constraints.
• Intellectually curious: You thrive on learning new things and diving deep into unfamiliar domains. You can explain what excites you about recent AI papers, and you're genuinely interested in understanding how insurance actually works—not just treating it as another dataset.
• A collaborative problem-solver: You communicate complex ideas clearly and work well with engineers who think differently than academics. You're comfortable with ambiguity and pragmatic trade-offs. When your elegant solution doesn't work in practice, you iterate rather than insist.
• A bias for action: You don't wait for perfect information. You run experiments, test hypotheses, and learn from what breaks. You document your findings so others can build on your work, and you're comfortable saying "I don't know yet, but here's how I'll figure it out."

What You'll Do:

• Tackle real AI research problems with immediate impact. You'll work on questions like: How do we teach models to understand industry-specific risk factors? How do we evaluate AI judgment when ground truth is ambiguous? How do we make LLMs reliable enough for million-dollar underwriting decisions? Not toy problems—problems our customers face every day.
• Build working prototypes. You'll use Python, work with LLMs and RAG systems, design experiments, analyze results, and implement proof-of-concepts that could become production features. You'll collaborate with our product engineering team to understand what actually works at scale versus what works in notebooks.
• Own research projects end-to-end. From problem scoping through experimentation to presenting findings and shipping prototypes. You'll work in our two-week sprint cycles, participate in technical discussions, and help shape our AI research roadmap. We'll teach you what you don't know—we're looking for potential and learning ability, not someone who can ship production code day one.
• Get immersed in applied AI development. You'll see how research translates to product, how engineering constraints shape AI capabilities, and how domain expertise (insurance) intersects with technical innovation. You'll participate in cross-functional discussions with product, engineering, and even customers.

Qualifications:

• You're currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science, Machine Learning, AI, Statistics, or related technical field (penultimate year strongly preferred—we're building a pipeline to full-time senior roles).
• You have strong Python skills and are comfortable implementing research ideas in code, not just reading papers. Experience with LLMs, RAG systems, vector databases, or prompt engineering is a major plus.
• You have genuine interest in applied AI research—solving real problems with messy data, not just chasing benchmark improvements. Bonus if you're curious about domains outside traditional ML (like insurance, finance, healthcare).
• You're comfortable with ambiguity and iteration. Early-stage companies move fast, priorities shift, and perfect information doesn't exist. You can define your own research questions, experiment independently, and integrate feedback from non-researchers.
• You communicate and collaborate well. You can explain technical decisions clearly in writing and real-time discussion. You take feedback constructively and engage thoughtfully when people disagree with your approach. You document your work so future teammates can build on it.

Additional Information:

• This is a 12-week summer internship for candidates in their penultimate year of their PhD program (i.e., one year from completion).
• This is a hybrid role based in our NYC office, offering flexibility while enabling close collaboration with our AI engineering team.
• Expected hourly rate between $68 to $82 per hour.
• Advertised and actual pay rates may differ by geographic area, work experience, education, and/or skill level.
• This position does not include visa sponsorship. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without requiring employer sponsorship.

Our Commitment:

We foster an environment that welcomes professionals with a diversity of backgrounds and ideas. We value passionate professionals who bring creativity, determination, and a commitment to our mission. At Sixfold, every team member plays a crucial role, with opportunities to make meaningful and visible contributions to our success.

We believe in empowering our employees through continuous growth, learning, and a proactive problem-solving approach. Our comprehensive compensation package includes competitive salaries, equity opportunities, and robust benefits, all within a supportive and inclusive workplace culture. If you're driven to make a significant impact alongside exceptional colleagues, we want to hear from you.

We are committed to accessibility and provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans throughout our recruitment process.If you have any difficulty using our online system and you need accommodation due to a disability, please reach out to us directly at (646) 847-8824.

Sixfold does not accept unsolicited agency resumes and is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.