Attentive Internship 2027–2028: Programs, Pay & How to Apply

Last updated: July 2026

Attentive surpassed $500 million in Annual Recurring Revenue in 2024, a milestone reached by fewer than 1% of venture-backed companies. The platform now serves 8,000+ brands, processes 80 billion+ events per month across 200+ Java services, and drove nearly $2 billion in brand revenue during 2025 Cyber Week alone. For the 2027–2028 cycle, Attentive posts a small number of intern roles (estimated 2 to 4 per cycle), primarily in AI and strategy, making early application essential.

Quick Facts

Attentive is a Series E martech startup valued at $7 billion that posts a small number of high-impact intern roles each cycle. The AI Intern track is the flagship, paying $25/hr with direct exposure to agent-based systems and production code. Positions fill on a rolling basis, so apply early.

Externships are short, remote projects where you finish real work for a real company. The Wayfair AI Agent Engineering Externship and Beats by Dre Data Analytics Externship build the AI agent-building, data-analysis, and product-thinking evidence an Attentive application rewards. Explore all Externships.

What Is an Attentive Internship?

An Attentive internship is a paid, 10- to 12-week placement at one of the fastest-growing martech companies in the world. Unlike the structured rotational programs at FAANG, Attentive posts a small number of targeted roles (estimated 2 to 4 per cycle), and the flagship AI Intern track puts you directly on the Strategy team prototyping real agent-based systems and shipping production code. The company's infrastructure processes 80 billion+ events per month across 200+ Java services, serving 8,000+ brands including Samsung, Wayfair, and Urban Outfitters. With $500M+ ARR, backing from Sequoia Capital and Bain Capital Ventures, and a $7 billion valuation, Attentive operates at startup speed with enterprise-scale data. Glassdoor rates it 3.5 out of 5 across 521+ reviews, and it has been recognized on the Forbes Cloud 100 for five consecutive years.

When Do Attentive Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?

Attentive does not publish a fixed internship calendar, but a pattern emerges from the 2025 and 2026 cycles. The 2025 AI Internship was posted and filled by mid-2025, and the 2026 AI Intern listing appeared earlier in 2026 and was removed by June. For Summer 2027, expect postings between September and November 2026, with rolling interviews through early 2027, offers by January to February, and a May or June start. The critical insight: Attentive posts a small number of roles (2 to 4), so positions close quickly once they go live.

Why You Must Apply the Week Applications Open

Attentive is not FAANG. The company posts an estimated 2 to 4 intern roles per cycle, and listings are removed once filled. The 2026 AI Intern posting was live for only a few months before being pulled. With positions that scarce, applying in the first week of posting is not optional. Set alerts on LinkedIn, Built In NYC, and Greenhouse. Check attentive.com/careers weekly starting in September. There is no published deadline to anchor to, so speed and monitoring are the only advantages. An internal referral helps, especially at a company with 1,000+ employees where hiring managers have direct influence over every intern decision.

Which Attentive Internship Programs Should You Target?

Attentive does not run a large, structured multi-track internship program like FAANG companies. Instead, intern roles are posted individually as specific team needs arise. The AI Intern (Strategy Team) track is the flagship and most frequently posted. Which role you target depends on whether your background is technical (AI/engineering) or commercial (sales/marketing).

See every open role on Attentive's careers page. The AI Intern (Strategy Team) track is the most differentiated: the posting explicitly states 'This is not a traditional internship -- you will be prototyping real agent-based systems and shipping real code to help us get real products into market.'

What Are the Eligibility Requirements?

Attentive's intern postings have flexible requirements compared to FAANG, but several patterns appear across observed listings:

• Enrollment: current college students or recent graduates. No specific class year requirement stated in observed postings.

• Degree: no specific degree requirement listed. A technical foundation (Python, JavaScript, APIs) is preferred for AI tracks. CS, data science, marketing, or related fields align well.

• Work authorization: Attentive sponsors H-1B visas for full-time roles (94 LCAs filed, 100% certification rate). Intern CPT/OPT eligibility is not explicitly stated in postings; international students should confirm with their recruiter.

• Location: AI Intern roles are hybrid NYC (3 days per week in-office at 136 Madison Avenue). Some roles have been listed as remote (US). About 65% of Attentive engineers work fully remote.

Does Attentive Require a CS Degree?

No. Attentive's AI Intern postings do not list a specific degree requirement. What the job descriptions emphasize is a builder mindset: genuine curiosity about how AI agents work, comfort starting with unclear problems, and the ability to prototype and iterate quickly. The 2026 AI Intern listing specifically asks for a 'technical foundation' (Python, JavaScript, APIs) rather than a particular major. If you can demonstrate these skills through projects or prior experience, the degree matters less than the evidence.

What Skills Does Attentive Look For, and How Do You Build Them?

Read across three Attentive intern job descriptions plus their engineering blog, two AI Intern variants and one cross-functional, and the pattern is clear. Python or JavaScript appears in all three, AI/ML curiosity in two, written communication in three, and a builder mindset in two. But what separates Attentive from other internships is the explicit focus on AI agent systems: the 2026 AI Intern posting calls out Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex by name. Bring coding fluency, then demonstrate that you have actually built something with AI tools, not just read about them.

How Is Demand for Software Engineering Interns Moving Right Now?

Build These Skills Before You Apply

And every skill in that chart maps to a remote Externship where you finish a real project before a role opens.

How close is the overlap? The Wayfair project is agent-engineering work that yields the prototype-and-ship evidence Attentive's AI Intern posting explicitly asks for, and the Beats project produces the data-analysis portfolio that shows you can work with metrics at scale.

What Is the Attentive Application and Interview Process Like?

Attentive's interview funnel averages about 21 to 22 days from application to decision. The process is shorter than FAANG and emphasizes collaborative problem-solving over whiteboard tricks:

1. Apply on attentive.com/careers. Search for internship roles on the Greenhouse board. Apply immediately when listings appear; positions are removed once filled. Monitor Built In NYC and LinkedIn as secondary channels.

2. Recruiter screen (30 minutes). Communication skills, career goals, compensation expectations, and a project overview. Prepare a concise intro and be ready to discuss a recognizable project with your specific technical contributions.

3. Engineering screen: coding portion (45 to 60 minutes). Problem-solving with collaborative coding. Expect LeetCode medium-level problems: top-K frequent elements, priority queue/heap, balanced parentheses, shortest path in matrix. Emphasis on asking clarifying questions to define scope.

4. Engineering screen: project retrospective (45 to 60 minutes). Deep-dive into a past project: problem statement, technologies used, architecture decisions, and impact (cite metrics). Use whiteboard tools to illustrate your design.

5. Onsite: coding and system design (45 to 60 minutes each). Algorithmic coding, data structures, back-of-envelope calculations, technology choices, and trade-off discussions. Be transparent about what you know and what you do not.

6. Onsite: engineering manager round (45 minutes). Behavioral questions, culture fit, and leadership potential. Attentive's core values (Default to Action, Act Like an Owner) are evaluated here.

So the two skills to drill are clear: collaborative coding fluency for the engineering screens (LeetCode mediums, especially heap/graph problems, while explaining your reasoning aloud) and a deep, quantified project story for the retrospective round. Attentive's tech blog explicitly advises candidates to be confident while remaining open to feedback, and to never fabricate experiences. Glassdoor rates the interview difficulty at 2.98 out of 5, with 47.1% reporting a positive experience.

What Students on Reddit Say

Three community threads show the process from the outside, all paraphrased.

How Do You Stand Out When Only 2 to 4 Intern Seats Exist?

Three moves, all before a listing goes live. First, monitor and apply immediately: Attentive posts an estimated 2 to 4 intern roles per cycle and removes listings once filled, so set alerts on Built In NYC, LinkedIn, and Greenhouse starting in September. The 2026 AI Intern posting was live for only a few months. Second, build with AI tools before you apply: the flagship AI Intern posting explicitly names Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex, and asks for someone who has actually prototyped agent-based systems. A portfolio project using any of these tools is more persuasive than coursework. Third, prepare a quantified project retrospective: Attentive's interview includes a dedicated project deep-dive where you walk through problem, tech stack, architecture, and impact with metrics. If you can connect your project to Attentive's domain (SMS/email marketing automation, personalization at scale, or event-driven data pipelines processing billions of records), the relevance will stand out.

What Other Companies Should You Consider?

Attentive sits at the intersection of martech and AI. If you are building an internship list in this space, these are the obvious neighbors:

Our tech internships summer 2027 guide maps the whole landscape, timeline by timeline.

FAQ

When do Attentive internship applications open for summer 2027?

Expect listings between September and November 2026, based on patterns from the 2025 and 2026 cycles. Attentive does not publish fixed dates. Monitor attentive.com/careers, Built In NYC, and LinkedIn starting in September. Positions fill on a rolling basis and listings are removed once filled.

How much does an Attentive internship pay?

The AI Intern role pays $25 per hour (~$4,333 per month), confirmed from two official job postings (2025 and 2026). Glassdoor estimates ~$34/hr for some roles. No housing or relocation stipend has been reported. For context, full-time SWE 1 total compensation at Attentive is approximately $203,000.

What is the Attentive internship interview process?

A recruiter screen (30 minutes), engineering screen with coding and project retrospective (45 to 60 minutes each), then onsite rounds including coding, system design, and an engineering manager round. The process averages 21 to 22 days. Glassdoor rates the interview difficulty at 2.98 out of 5.

Is the Attentive internship remote or in-person?

It depends on the role and cycle. The 2026 AI Intern was hybrid NYC (3 days per week in-office at 136 Madison Avenue). The 2025 AI Internship was listed as remote (US). About 65% of Attentive engineers work fully remote, but user-facing product teams are expected in-office 3 days per week.

Does Attentive sponsor visas for interns?

Attentive sponsors H-1B visas for full-time roles (94 LCAs filed, 100% certification rate, $210,000 median salary). Intern-specific CPT/OPT sponsorship is not explicitly stated in job listings. International students should confirm eligibility directly with their recruiter.

What does Attentive actually do?

Attentive is an AI-powered omnichannel marketing platform for personalized SMS, RCS, email, and push notification campaigns. It serves 8,000+ brands across 70+ industries including Samsung, Wayfair, and Urban Outfitters. The platform processes 80 billion+ events per month and drove nearly $2 billion in brand revenue during 2025 Cyber Week.

What tech stack will I work with as an Attentive intern?

Attentive's stack includes Java and React for app development, Kubernetes and AWS (EKS) for infrastructure, GraphQL and gRPC for data, Snowflake and Iceberg for analytics, and PyTorch/XGBoost for ML. AI interns specifically work with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and agent-based systems. The architecture runs 200+ Java services in a monorepo.

How competitive is an Attentive internship?

Attentive posts only an estimated 2 to 4 intern roles per cycle, making competition significant despite the company being less well-known than FAANG. As a Forbes Cloud 100 company with $500M+ ARR, it attracts strong applicants. The interview difficulty is moderate (2.98/5 on Glassdoor) and the process is shorter than FAANG at about 22 days.

Attentive posts only a handful of intern seats, and every one ships production code. Spend the runway building proof: a remote Externship turns 'interested in martech' into a finished AI project you can walk through in the retrospective round.