Summer 2026 AI/ML Informatics Intern

Mission Statement

The mission of the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) is to work in partnership with communities to protect and promote the health and well-being of all Boston residents, especially those impacted by racism and systemic inequities. The BPHC sets an expectation that all staff and leadership commit, individually and as part of the BPHC team, to hold ourselves accountable to establishing a culture of anti-racism and advance racial equity and justice through each of our bureaus, programs, and offices.

Job Description

The Informatics function, within Information Technology Services (ITS), builds the data infrastructure, dashboards, and analytic tooling BPHC uses to identify and act on health inequities across Boston. The team partners across bureaus and programs - including the Bureau of Child, Adolescent, and Family Health (CAFH) - to standardize equity-disaggregated data, integrate public health dashboards, and incubate interdisciplinary innovation under Strategic Plan Pillar 3 (Data and Innovation).

The AI/ML Informatics Intern will design, build, and evaluate a prototype AI-assisted tool that solves a well-scoped problem inside BPHC. With the supervisor in the first two weeks, the intern will choose one of two tracks: (a) a conversational analytics chatbot that lets BPHC staff query approved internal datasets in plain language with cited, equity-disaggregated answers; or (b) a CAFH client-intake AI assistant that streamlines intake, screening, and resource referral for families seeking BPHC services. The work is grounded in BPHC's 2024-2027 Strategic Plan, Pillar 3, and centers responsible AI practice.

Specific duties include: (1) scope the project with supervisor and partner program staff; (2) inventory approved data sources with stewards and document sensitivity, equity-disaggregation availability, and usage constraints; (3) implement the AI/ML prototype on BPHC-approved infrastructure using open-source components, with citations and reproducible logs; (4) build automated tests for accuracy, citation correctness, and disparate performance across race/ethnicity, language, and neighborhood; (5) run user testing with 3-5 BPHC staff and incorporate feedback; (6) produce a deployment-readiness brief covering security, privacy, data governance, monitoring, and guardrails; (7) deliver a final cohort presentation. All work follows BPHC data-handling, privacy, and IT policies; PHI is excluded from any prototype unless explicitly approved by ITS, Legal, and the partner program.

Minimum Qualifications

Specific duties include: (1) scope the project with supervisor and partner program staff; (2) inventory approved data sources with stewards and document sensitivity, equity-disaggregation availability, and usage constraints; (3) implement the AI/ML prototype on BPHC-approved infrastructure using open-source components, with citations and reproducible logs; (4) build automated tests for accuracy, citation correctness, and disparate performance across race/ethnicity, language, and neighborhood; (5) run user testing with 3-5 BPHC staff and incorporate feedback; (6) produce a deployment-readiness brief covering security, privacy, data governance, monitoring, and guardrails; (7) deliver a final cohort presentation. All work follows BPHC data-handling, privacy, and IT policies; PHI is excluded from any prototype unless explicitly approved by ITS, Legal, and the partner program.

Additional Information

• A Criminal Offenders Records Information request must be completed for this position. However, a record is not an automatic bar to employment but is reviewed in relation to the job applied for.
• Certain immunizations will be recommended and/or required prior to commencement of employment duties.
• Any position that requires an advanced degree will be subject to education verification.
• Certain positions at the BPHC may be Grant Funded.
• The Boston Public Health Commission is an EEO Employer and all applicants meeting the minimum requirements are eligible to apply.
• Certain positions at the BPHC may require Child Protective Service Background verification.
• The advertised shift and schedule are subject to change at the department's discretion.
• Additional qualifications: enrollment in or recent completion of an undergraduate or graduate program in computer science, data science, biostatistics, public health informatics, applied mathematics, or a related field. Working proficiency in Python and SQL; familiarity with at least one ML or LLM framework (e.g., scikit-learn, PyTorch, LangChain, LlamaIndex, Hugging Face Transformers). Comfort with tabular and text data, version control (Git), and translating technical findings for non-technical public health audiences. Demonstrated attention to data privacy, responsible AI practice, and bias auditing is preferred. Prior experience with public health, social-science, or health-equity data is a plus.

Shift

20 hours per week

Grant Funding Information

This position is dependent on grants / external funding sources.

Pay Range

$18 - $20 hourly