Undergrad and Graduate Internships at City of San José

The Public Works Department’s mission is to provide excellent service in building a smart and sustainable community, maintaining and managing the City’s assets, and serving the animal care needs of the community. Internship opportunities include: Administrative Services, Animal Care & Services, City Facilities Architectural Services, Development Services, Engineering Services, Equality Assurance, Facilities Management, Fleet Management, and Transportation and Hydraulics Services.

The Environmental Services Department (ESD) has established a national reputation for environmental leadership and innovation with award-winning recycling, water conservation, water quality protection, and wastewater treatment programs. Its major initiatives are: healthy streams, rivers, marshlands and bay waters; reliable water, garbage, and recycling services; clean and green air, land and energy policy development; and community education aimed at environmental sustainability. Interns in ESD can work on fun projects, make presentations, create and prepare training materials, do valuable research, use tech savvy skills to help market materials and provide overall team support.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) maintains and operates the City of San José’s transportation network of roadways, traffic signals, street lights, bicycle lanes, sidewalks, street trees and landscaping in addition to the public sewer system and storm drains. DOT’s goal is to provide a transportation system that is safe, efficient, and convenient for all users, and that supports the City’s livability and economic vitality. San José has adopted bold policy goals to be a leading city in the areas of environmental sustainability, innovation and fiscal efficiency

San Jose Public Library is the largest public library system between San Francisco and Los Angeles. A proud recipient of the Gale/Library Journal Library of the Year Award, the library is an acknowledged leader in providing innovative services to meet changing customer needs. The San Jose Public Library enriches lives by fostering lifelong learning and by ensuring that every member of the community has access to a vast array of ideas and information.

Housed within the Office of the City Manager, the Office of Economic Development (OED) leads the implementation of the City of San Jose Economic Strategy by working with other City departments, private businesses, and community partners. OED has four integrated divisions: Business Development, focused on job creation, business attraction, expansion and retention; Business Operations and Real Estate, focused on revenue generation, management of city owned property, and Department administrative support; Cultural Affairs, responsible for arts and cultural development; and work2future, the federally funded workforce development program serving Silicon Valley.

The mission of the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department (PRNS) is to cultivate healthy communities through quality programs and dynamic public spaces. Through proactive, strategic work plans, the Communications team develops, creates and implements outreach that is creative, articulate and engaging while telling a story of “Building Community Through FUN”. Interns’ skills and talents will contribute to the creation and activation of community-building places, programs and people. Interns will gain experience and build their portfolio as interns provide general support, assist in event production and work on specific programs and projects important to PRNS and the City.

The Planning Division in the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) implements policies and plans that determine where and how the City will grow and how that growth will be balanced with the availability of infrastructure and services. The PBCE internship program is designed to offer professional learning opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in the urban planning field. Interns may be assigned to specific projects in the sub-disciplines of urban village planning, development review, zoning, urban design, transportation, economic development, housing, sustainability, historic preservation, Geographic Information Systems, and data analytics. Interns will gain exposure to the operations of a planning department and have the opportunity to work on “real life” projects.