AI / Automation Intern

Bear North Digital is a digital marketing agency built exclusively for home services contractors — HVAC, plumbing, electrical, garage doors, epoxy, remodeling. We help trades businesses get found, get chosen, and grow smarter using our proprietary Contractor Growth Flywheel framework.We invest heavily in automation and AI — internally and on behalf of our clients — and we're looking for someone who wants to build that with us.THE ROLEThis isn't a coffee-and-copy-paste internship. You'll be writing real code, shipping real tools, and helping us figure out where AI fits into a fast-growing marketing agency.We're investing heavily in AI and automation — both for how we run the business and how we deliver work for clients. We need someone who can help us move faster: prototyping ideas, building internal tools, and turning manual workflows into systems that run on their own.If you've been tinkering with ChatGPT, Claude, or building side projects with APIs and want to do that for a living — this role is built for you.WHAT YOU'LL ACTUALLY DO- Prototype and build internal tools that save the team hours every week- Connect the dots between SaaS tools we already use — automating handoffs, alerts, reporting, and data sync- Experiment with LLMs to solve real problems — drafting, summarizing, classifying, extracting, researching- Tune and test prompts so AI-generated outputs are actually usable, not just impressive in a demo- Build small dashboards and reports that pull data from multiple sources into one view- Document what works — turn working prototypes into SOPs and templates the rest of the team can run- Help us figure out what's next — we don't have all the answers, and your ideas matter hereWHAT YOU'LL LEARN- How a real agency uses AI to deliver better work — not just demos and tweets- Practical prompt engineering — what makes AI outputs actually useful in production- How to design workflows that hold up when real people and real money are involved- Real exposure to the business side: how marketing agencies make money, where leverage compounds, what clients actually pay for- How to ship fast without breaking thingsWHO WE'RE LOOKING FORMust-haves:- Currently enrolled in a degree program (CS, info systems, data science, marketing analytics, or related — or self-taught equivalents)- Comfortable reading and writing JavaScript or Python. You don't need to be a senior dev. You do need to be able to read documentation and ship working code.- Hands-on experience with at least one LLM API (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini) — even side projects count- You actually finish things. Half-built side projects in your GitHub are fine; we want to see you can take something from idea to working.- Curious, scrappy, asks good questions. You'd rather try something and break it than wait to be told what to do.Nice-to-haves (not required):- Experience with workflow automation tools (Zapier, Make, n8n, or similar)- Familiarity with Claude Code, Cursor, or other AI-assisted dev tools- Worked with REST APIs, webhooks, or built integrations between SaaS tools- Any exposure to marketing tech (Google Ads, GA4, CRMs, WordPress, Shopify)- You've built something that other people actually useTHE DETAILS- Hours: 20–40 per week during summer. Reduced hours during the school year if extended.- Duration: Summer 2026 internship with the option to extend into the fall/spring school year for the right candidate. Strong performers will be considered for a full-time role on graduation.- Location: Remote-friendly. UMD, UWS, CSS, or Twin Ports area candidates preferred for in-person work.- Tools we'll give you: AI tool access, project management, GitHub, and the rest of the BND tool stackHOW TO APPLYSend the following to careers@bearnorthdigital.com with the subject line "AI Automation Intern — [Your Name]":1. A short note (no cover letter required) — tell us what you've built, what you're curious about, and why this role caught your eye.2. A link to your GitHub, portfolio, or any project you've shipped. Side projects, school projects, hackathon stuff — all fair game.3. Pick ONE of these and send a 2–3 paragraph response: (a) Describe a workflow at a small business you'd want to automate, and how you'd approach it. (b) Walk us through a side project where something broke and how you fixed it. (c) If you had access to AI tools and 4 hours to make someone's job easier, what would you build?We read every application. We don't use automated screening. If you put real thought into your response, you'll get a real reply — even if it's a no.