AI Automation Intern

K1 • Manhattan Beach, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

AI Automation Intern Founding AI Team Reporting Directly to Partner If you want to move fast, ship real things, and have outsized impact at a leading PE firm—keep reading. Position Summary: K1 is seeking an AI Automation Intern to join our founding AI team in Manhattan Beach, CA. This is not a typical internship. You will be one of three founding members of K1's internal AI function, reporting directly to a Founding Partner with no middle management, no busywork, and real ownership from day one. You will work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, enterprise software, and private equity operations — shipping real automations, building real tools, and driving real impact across a portfolio of 275+ companies. Top performers will convert to full-time roles with a mandate to build and lead their own team. The right candidate will embody the values of K1 – Passion, Persistence, Humility, and Excellence.

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Business + CS, or a related field
• At least one prior internship or substantive project experience in AI/ML, software engineering, or data science
• Proficiency with Claude (Anthropic) as a daily working tool — prompt engineering, multi-step workflows, and integration into real tasks
• Working knowledge of Microsoft 365 (Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Teams); familiarity with Power Automate or Copilot Studio is a plus
• Proficiency in Python and/or JavaScript — you don't need to be a systems engineer, but you need to be able to ship working code
• Bias toward action, comfort with ambiguity, and a genuine obsession with where AI is headed
• Ability to work in-office in Manhattan Beach 2–3 days per week.

Responsibilities

• Designing, building, and deploying AI-powered automations using Claude, Microsoft 365 (Power Automate, Copilot, SharePoint), and custom integrations to eliminate manual processes across the firm and portfolio companies
• Rapidly prototyping AI tools and agents — from competitive intelligence scrapers to board-report generators — and iterating quickly based on real user feedback
• Evaluating emerging AI models, tools, and frameworks and synthesizing findings into actionable recommendations for the investment team
• Building internal dashboards, data pipelines, and agentic workflows that give K1's investment professionals an unfair advantage
• Performing other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Direct access to a Founding Partner — no layers, no bureaucracy
• Full-time conversion opportunity with an accelerated path to building your own team
• Portfolio-wide exposure across 275+ enterprise software companies
• Flexible scheduling around your class schedule
• Competitive hourly compensation

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern