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About This Role
Description: Employment Type: Paid Internship (Temporary, W2 position with Cogent People Inc.) *This is a paid internship opportunity and is not eligible for company\-sponsored benefits.*
Location: Hybrid
Work Authorization Requirements
Candidates must have lived in the United States for at least 3 of the past 5 years and must be authorized to work in the U.S. as a U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident, or valid EAD holder.
This position is not eligible for work authorization sponsorship now or in the future, including H\-1B sponsorship.
Clearance Requirement: Public Trust Clearance required or ability to obtain.
About Cogent People Inc.
Cogent People Inc. is a government consulting and technology services firm supporting federal and commercial organizations through innovative business and technology solutions.
Our teams thrive in a collaborative environment focused on learning, professional growth, innovation, and operational excellence.
Internship Overview
Cogent People Inc. is seeking a motivated individual interested in gaining practical experience in Software Engineering while supporting the development of AI solutions for healthcare data analytics within a major federal healthcare modernization program.
This internship provides an exciting opportunity to contribute to mission\-critical systems that leverage AI to improve outcomes across the healthcare landscape. Interns will gain hands\-on experience working alongside experienced engineers throughout the full software development lifecycle in an agile environment.
The ideal candidate is currently pursuing or recently completed a degree in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Software Engineering, or a related field and is interested in launching a career in AI\-focused software engineering. Candidates should demonstrate foundational knowledge of AI frameworks and development tools through academic, personal, or project\-based experience.
Responsibilities
- Support the design and development of AI\-powered healthcare data analytics solutions across the software development lifecycle, including design, implementation, testing, and deployment
- Work under the guidance of experienced engineers to analyze requirements, contribute to solution design, and implement features using AI\-based tools and traditional development practices
- Write clean, maintainable, and well\-documented code using Python, TypeScript, and SQL
- Participate in agile ceremonies including daily stand\-ups, sprint planning, backlog grooming, and retrospectives
- Assist with debugging, troubleshooting, testing, and performance improvements
- Conduct research and experimentation related to AI technologies, frameworks, and tools
- Collaborate with cross\-functional team members in a fast\-paced and mission\-driven environment
Requirements:
- Currently pursuing or recently completed a degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, Applied Mathematics, Software Engineering, or a related field
- Familiarity with Python and AI\-related frameworks or libraries such as Pandas, NumPy, or LangChain
- General understanding of Large Language Models (LLMs), Agentic AI concepts, and Retrieval\-Augmented Generation (RAG)
- Familiarity with relational databases and SQL
- Strong analytical, problem\-solving, and communication skills
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a team environment
- Strong attention to detail and willingness to learn new technologies and tools
Preferred Qualifications
- Familiarity with AWS cloud services
- Academic, personal, or project\-based experience developing AI\-related applications or solutions
- Exposure to software engineering best practices, version control, or agile methodologies
- Highly motivated, goal\-oriented, and eager to learn in a professional environment
Why Cogent People Inc.?
At Cogent People, we foster a collaborative, growth\-driven environment where innovation thrives. You’ll be part of a team supporting meaningful technology initiatives while gaining hands\-on experience with modern AI and healthcare data solutions.
We offer:
- Paid internship experience
- Hands\-on learning opportunities
- Mentorship from experienced engineering professionals
- Exposure to healthcare IT and federal technology modernization initiatives
- Professional development and networking opportunities
- A collaborative and supportive workplace culture
As a Certified Great Place to Work, we prioritize employee satisfaction and provide a supportive, inclusive culture where every team member is valued and empowered to succeed.
Internship Terms
- This is a temporary paid internship position
- Interns are not eligible for company\-sponsored benefits
- Internship duration: \[Insert timeframe – e.g., 8 weeks, 10 weeks, or 12 weeks]
- Work schedule: \[Insert hours per week]
Compliance Notice
Cogent People Inc. conducts employment verification for all candidates. Misrepresentation of work authorization, residency history, or professional experience may result in disqualification.
We do not engage third\-party recruiters for this role unless explicitly stated.
EEO Employer
Cogent People Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability status, or any other status protected by law.
Role Details
About This Role
AI Software Engineers build the applications and systems that AI models run inside. They own the API layers, data pipelines, frontend integrations, and infrastructure that turn a model into a product users interact with. Every AI company needs engineers who can build the software around the AI.
The challenge is building reliable systems around inherently unreliable components. Models are probabilistic. They'll give different answers to the same question. They hallucinate. They're slow. They're expensive. Your job is to build an application layer that handles all of this gracefully while delivering a product that users trust and enjoy.
Across the 3,057 AI roles we're tracking, AI Software Engineer positions make up 6% of the market. At Cogent People Inc, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.
AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.
What the Work Looks Like
A typical week includes: building API endpoints that serve model inference with caching and fallback logic, designing the data pipeline that feeds context to a RAG system, implementing streaming responses in the frontend, debugging a race condition in the async inference pipeline, and optimizing database queries for the vector search layer. It's full-stack engineering with AI at the center.
AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.
Skills Required
Full-stack engineering skills with AI integration experience. Python and TypeScript are the most common requirements. You'll need to understand API design, database architecture, and how to build reliable systems around probabilistic outputs. Experience with streaming, async processing, and caching patterns is increasingly important as real-time AI applications proliferate.
Knowledge of vector databases, embedding APIs, and LLM integration patterns (function calling, structured outputs, retry logic) differentiates AI software engineers from general software engineers. Understanding cost optimization (caching strategies, model routing, batched inference) is valuable since inference costs can dominate application economics.
Strong postings describe the product you'll be building, the AI integration patterns you'll work with, and the scale requirements. Look for companies that have existing AI features and need engineers to improve and expand them, not companies that are 'planning to add AI' someday.
Compensation Benchmarks
AI Software Engineer roles pay a median of $234,620 based on 682 positions with disclosed compensation. Mid-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $160,000.
Across all AI roles, the market median is $200,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $253,000. The 90th percentile reaches $307,500. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Engineering Manager ($293,500) and AI Safety ($274,200). By seniority level: Entry: $97,380; Mid: $160,000; Senior: $227,400; Director: $243,000; VP: $250,000.
Cogent People Inc AI Hiring
Cogent People Inc has 1 open AI role right now. They're hiring across AI Software Engineer. Based in Columbia, MD, US.
Location Context
Across all AI roles, 17% (513 positions) offer remote work, while 2,528 require on-site attendance. Top AI hiring metros: New York (2,449 roles, $210,000 median); San Francisco (1,990 roles, $253,000 median); Los Angeles (1,686 roles, $189,000 median).
Career Path
Common paths into AI Software Engineer roles include Software Engineer, Full-Stack Developer, Backend Engineer.
From here, career progression typically leads toward Staff Engineer, AI Architect, Engineering Manager.
If you're a software engineer, you're already 80% there. Learn the AI integration patterns: RAG, streaming inference, function calling, structured outputs. Build a project that demonstrates you can wrap an AI model in a production-quality application with proper error handling, caching, and user experience. That's the portfolio piece that gets you hired.
What to Expect in Interviews
Technical screens look like standard software engineering interviews with an AI twist. Expect system design questions about building reliable applications around probabilistic models: handling streaming responses, implementing retry logic for API failures, and designing caching strategies for LLM outputs. Coding rounds test standard algorithms plus practical integration patterns like async processing and rate limiting.
When evaluating opportunities: Strong postings describe the product you'll be building, the AI integration patterns you'll work with, and the scale requirements. Look for companies that have existing AI features and need engineers to improve and expand them, not companies that are 'planning to add AI' someday.
AI Hiring Overview
The AI job market has 3,057 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 94 entry-level, 1,467 mid-level, 1,148 senior, and 348 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 17% of the market (513 positions). The remaining 2,528 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.
The market median for AI roles is $200,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $253,000. The 90th percentile reaches $307,500. Highest-paying categories: AI Engineering Manager ($293,500 median, 31 roles); AI Safety ($274,200 median, 51 roles); Research Engineer ($260,000 median, 401 roles).
AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.
The AI Job Market Today
The AI job market spans 3,057 open positions across 15 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (2,189), Data Scientist (233), AI Software Engineer (195). These three account for the majority of open positions, though smaller categories often have higher per-role compensation because of specialized skill requirements.
The seniority mix tells a story about where AI teams are in their maturity. Entry-level roles (94) are outnumbered by mid-level (1,467) and senior (1,148) positions, reflecting that most companies are past the 'build a team from scratch' phase and need experienced engineers who can ship production systems. Leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level) total 348 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.
Remote work availability sits at 17% of all AI roles (513 positions), with 2,528 requiring on-site or hybrid attendance. The remote share has stabilized after the post-pandemic correction. Senior and specialized roles (Research Scientist, ML Architect) are more likely to be remote-eligible than entry-level positions, partly because experienced hires have more negotiating power and partly because these roles require less hands-on mentorship.
AI compensation is structured in clear tiers. The market median sits at $200,000. Top-quartile roles start at $253,000, and the 90th percentile reaches $307,500. These figures include base salary with disclosed compensation. Total compensation (including equity, bonuses, and sign-on) runs 20-40% higher at companies that offer those components.
Category matters for compensation. AI Engineering Manager roles lead at $293,500 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $142,800. The spread between highest and lowest-paying categories reflects the premium on specialized technical skills versus broader analytical roles.
The most in-demand skills across all AI postings: Python (1,566 postings), Aws (974 postings), Azure (725 postings), Rag (683 postings), Gcp (597 postings), Prompt Engineering (472 postings), Pytorch (461 postings), Claude (447 postings). Python dominates, appearing in the vast majority of role descriptions regardless of category. Cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) is the second most common requirement. The newer entrants to the top skills list (RAG, vector databases, LLM APIs) reflect the shift from traditional ML toward generative AI applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
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