Snap Inc is a technology company. We believe the camera presents the greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. Snap contributes to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together. The Company’s three core products are Snapchat, a visual messaging app that enhances your relationships with friends, family, and the world; Lens Studio, an augmented reality platform that powers AR across Snapchat and other services; and its AR glasses, Spectacles.
Snapchat is a camera and messaging app that connects people to their friends and the world. Every day around the globe, millions of people use Snapchat to communicate with friends, build relationships, play, and learn. No matter where you are or how you express yourself, it’s always the fastest way to share a moment!
We are looking for a Research Engineering Intern to join our User Modeling and Personalization Research Team for a 16-week internship in Spring/Summer/Fall of 2026. Our team’s mission is to invent new ways to model user behavior, and empower our business partners to build world-class user-centric ML systems which shape personalized experiences across Snap. Our work spans the domains of user behavior understanding, structured data modeling, recommendation systems, and efficient large-scale machine learning. Together with you, we seek to redefine the state-of-the-art in technology to deliver our users customized experiences which delight them.
What you'll do:
Lead applied research and software engineering efforts for large-scale ML initiatives in the areas of graph modeling, generative recommendation, personalization, and/or efficiency
Evaluate technical tradeoffs, perform code reviews and write high code-quality code
Build robust, lasting, and scalable systems and iterate without compromising quality
Partner with engineering teams to deliver your technology to millions of Snapchatters
Learn and apply new software engineering skills
Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:
Demonstrated ability in software development and machine learning
Strong computer science fundamentals and problem-solving skills
Strong understanding of machine learning approaches, algorithms, and data structures
Reading and reproducing machine learning algorithms from scientific publications
Minimum Qualifications:
Strong proficiency in Python
Familiarity with at least one common machine learning framework as PyTorch, Tensorflow, Keras, JAX, Numpy etc.
Must be currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in a technical field such as computer science (preferred) or equivalent research-intensive graduate program post undergrad. Must have a graduation date no sooner than your intended internship end date.
Preferred Qualifications:
Internship or academic experience working on challenging and innovative computer science and/or ML research or engineering projects
Proven experience in implementing and applying machine learning methodologies in real-world applications
Experience with distributed data processing frameworks like Apache Spark and/or Beam, data pipelines and MLOps
Experience working with cloud-based systems (GCP, AWS)
A passion for Snapchat and creativity!
#LI-DNI
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Snap Inc. Santa Monica, California, USA Office
Snap LA is located in the Santa Monica Business Park. We're across the street from a ton of great restaurants, coffee shops, Clover Park, and more!
Machine Learning @ Snap





At Snap, Machine Learning Engineers are innovators, transforming massive amounts of data into intelligent, personalized experiences for over 850 million users. From revolutionizing content and ad platforms to enhancing search, our team leverages state of the art machine learning models to drive snapchat’s mission forward: to empower people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn and enjoy the world together. By pioneering technology that understands and anticipates user needs, Snap’s ML team fuels moments of discovery, connection, and joy - impacting lives and advancing human progress every day.
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