Year-Round Intern - AI Research & Engineering

To be considered for this position, applications and resumes are accepted only through our careers site by directly applying to the posted job. We do not accept unsolicited resumes or sales solicitations from staffing agencies. Any OCC employee wishing to submit a referral must do so through their Workday account. Any resume submitted outside of an active job posting will not be considered for employment.

*****INTERNS AND SEASONAL INTERNS ARE ELIGIBLE ONLY FOR PAID SICK LEAVE ACCRUED BASED ON HOURS WORKED. NO OTHER BENEFIT INCLUDING TECHNOLOGY STIPEND APPLY TO INTERNS OR SEASONAL INTERNS*****

Location: Chicago

Internship type: Year-round intern (1,000 hours max, January 2027–December 2027)

Hybrid Work Program

OCC operates under a Hybrid Work Program which, absent an approved exception, requires employees to work from an OCC office at least 3 days per week. To maximize in–person collaboration, Tuesday and Wednesday are considered anchor days, and all employees are expected to work in the office both days. Employees meeting performance expectations are generally permitted to select 2 other days per week to work remotely if desired. When working remotely, employees are generally expected to work from the state in which they reside, absent an exception approved by Human Resources. Additionally, OCC generally does not permit employees to work while traveling internationally.

About OCC:

A World Class Clearing Organization

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, OCC is dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. OCC has more than 100 clearing members and provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 21 exchanges and trading platforms.

OCC also provides free and engaging educational resources about the benefits and risks of options through its Options Industry Council (OIC). 

OCC is building a culture that empowers continued learning, authentic innovation, and constant creativity.

About the Intern Program:

OCC is looking for interns who are eager to learn, humble enough to ask questions, and ready to think critically about complex problems. The OCC Internship Program equips students with the real-world skills needed to transition successfully into a career in financial services. As an intern, you will contribute to meaningful projects, applying your skills and knowledge to real challenges facing the business. Your time with us is a real opportunity to make a genuine impact on the future of OCC!

OCC's Year-Round Internship Program is a 12-month opportunity running from January through December and is open to both undergraduate and graduate students who are actively enrolled at a college or university. Interns work up to 20 hours per week during the school year and up to 40 hours per week during the summer, subject to a 1,000-hour cap. The role is based in a hybrid work environment, and overtime is not permitted.

About the Team & Role

Artificial Intelligence Research & Engineering (AIRE) is responsible for enterprise AI solution implementation and governance across OCC. AIRE evaluates emerging AI capabilities, builds secure and compliant platforms, and partners with business and technology teams to deliver AI-driven solutions that improve operational efficiency and decision-making. Core functions span Generative AI Solutions & Engineering, AI Governance & Risk Management, AI Vendor & Platform Management, and AI Training & Enablement.

Currently moving aggressively into agentic AI, leveraging frontier technologies, such as Anthropic's Claude platform and models, to transform how OCC operates, one functional area at a time.

This intern will work directly with our engineering team to help design, prototype, and evaluate agentic AI solutions built on frontier platforms. Depending on interests and skill set, contributions could include building and testing AI agent workflows, supporting governance and risk-review processes for new AI use cases, or helping assess vendor/platform capabilities. The intern will gain hands-on exposure to how a leading financial market infrastructure company is operationalizing generative and agentic AI at enterprise scale.

Job Summary & Responsibilities

This intern will join the AI Research & Engineering (AIRE) team and work hands-on building agentic AI solutions using frontier platforms (e.g., Anthropic's Claude models and tooling) to automate and enhance functional areas across OCC.

Projects & responsibilities may include:

• Agent design & prototyping — Build and iterate on AI agent workflows for a specific OCC functional area, working alongside engineers who own these systems in production.

• Platform integration — Integrate agentic solutions with internal data sources and APIs, gaining experience with the same MCP/tool-use patterns our engineers use to connect models to enterprise systems.

• Evaluation & testing — Design test cases and evaluation frameworks to measure agent accuracy, reliability, and safety, which is a core ongoing responsibility for AI engineers ensuring solutions are production-ready.

• Governance & risk awareness — Partner with the AI Governance & Risk Management functions to understand compliance and risk considerations for deploying AI in a regulated financial environment, a responsibility every AI engineer on the team shares.

• Documentation & knowledge sharing — Document agent architectures, prompt designs, and lessons learned, contributing to the team's internal playbooks, mirroring how full-time engineers formalize and scale successful pilots.

• Cross-functional collaboration — Work directly with business stakeholders in the target functional area to gather requirements and validate that the agentic solution solves a real operational problem, the same stakeholder-facing skill required in the full-time role.

Candidate Qualifications

Rising senior or second-year graduate student, graduating December 2027 or May/August 2028.

Desired Majors

• Computer Science

• Data Science

• Statistics

• Applied Mathematics / Mathematics

• Engineering

• Physics

• Machine Learning

• Financial Engineering / Financial Mathematics

• Economics

Technical Skills/Experience Desired

We're looking for candidates with a strong quantitative/technical foundation and genuine curiosity about AI. Preferred skills are:

• Solid programming skills in Python (most common) and/or SQL, Java, C++, or R

• Coursework or project experience in machine learning, AI, or data science

• Exposure to AI/ML frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Scikit-learn

• Interest or experience in generative AI — LLMs, prompt engineering, or agentic systems

• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP)

• Experience with data pipelines or data engineering tools (Spark, Databricks, etc.)

• Strong analytical thinking and ability to communicate technical work clearly

• Curiosity, initiative (independent projects, research, hackathons), and a strong foundation for quick learning

Additional Qualifications

• Strong academic performance (GPA 3.5+ preferred), reflecting rigor and consistency

• Demonstrated initiative — independent projects, research, hackathons, or startup experience beyond coursework

• Prior internship or work experience in a technical or analytical role preferred

• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Comfort working cross-functionally with business, risk, and technology teams

• Strong problem-solving skills and a self-directed approach to learning new tools/technologies

• Interest in financial services, market infrastructure, or regulated industries a plus

• Familiarity with Agile/collaborative development practices (version control, code reviews, sprint-based work)

About Us

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, OCC is dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. OCC has more than 100 clearing members and provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 19 exchanges and trading platforms. More information about OCC is available at www.theocc.com.

Compensation

• The salary range listed for any given position is exclusive of fringe benefits and potential bonuses. If hired at OCC, your final base salary compensation will be determined by factors such as skills, experience and/or education.
• In addition, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as part of any final offer.
• We typically do not hire at the maximum of the range in order to allow for future and continued salary growth. We also offer a substantial benefits package as noted on www.theocc.com/careers
• All employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus. Discretionary bonuses are based on various factors, including, but not limited to, company and individual performance and are not guaranteed.

Salary Range

$25.00 - $25.00

Incentive Range

This position is eligible for an annual discretionary incentive compensation award, for which the target range is listed above (see Incentive Range). The amount of such award, if any, will be based on various factors, including without limitation, both individual and company performance.

Step 1
When you find a position you're interested in, click the 'Apply' button. Please complete the application and attach your resume.  

Step 2
You will receive an email notification to confirm that we've received your application.

Step 3
If you are called in for an interview, a representative from OCC will contact you to set up a date, time, and location. 

For more information about OCC, please click here.

OCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer