Last updated: October 2026
e.l.f. Beauty has no intern roles open right now, so the next door is summer 2027 and it should open early in the new year. Its Lever job board listed 81 postings on 25 October 2026 and none were for interns. Last cycle, archived copies of its summer 2026 intern postings first appear between 22 January and 18 March 2026 for a June 1 start, about 2.5 to 4.5 months ahead, and every one listed $20 an hour. In plain words, you apply in early 2027, not in 2026, to intern in summer 2027, so this fall is for getting ready. This guide covers e.l.f. Beauty's US internships only (New York, Los Angeles and Oakland).
Quick Facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Where to apply | jobs.lever.co/elfbeauty, linked from the work with us page. Filter to Intern and save an alert; intern roles are separate reqs, one per team. |
| Application window (2027–28) | Not open. Summer 2027 reqs expected ~Jan–Apr 2027 (summer 2026 copies first appear 22 Jan–18 Mar 2026). Year-round part-time interns: none posted now |
| Rolling? | No deadline appears on the postings read. Hiring ran from January to late May in 2026, by role |
| Eligibility | 13 of 14 summer 2026 reqs asked for a rising junior or senior; Community Management asked for a sophomore or junior. GPA and work authorization not stated |
| Duration | Summer: June 1 to Aug 21 (Aug 28 for the Los Angeles influencer role), at least 18 hours a week on the Community Management req |
| Compensation | $20 an hour on every summer 2026 req; $20–$24 an hour on 2025 year-round part-time reqs (from archived copies of e.l.f.'s own postings) |
| Return offers | Not published |
| Locations | New York and Los Angeles for summer 2026 roles; Oakland (HQ) for 2025 IT and product roles. Hybrid, three days in the office on most reqs |
| # Programs | No branded program. About 14 summer 2026 reqs across marketing, design and insights, plus year-round part-time interns in 2025 |
Nothing is posted today, and the summer 2027 batch is expected between January and April 2027.
Externships are short, remote programs where you finish a real project for a real company, most commonly over 8 weeks at 5 to 10 hours a week, long enough to build a portfolio piece before e.l.f. posts again. The Health-Ade Consumer Behavior & Insights Externship matches e.l.f.'s Marketing Insights intern role, and the BeReal Product Management Externship fits its loyalty and app-messaging roles. Explore all Externships.
What Is an e.l.f. Beauty Internship?
An e.l.f. Beauty internship is a paid, hybrid US internship at e.l.f. Beauty, Inc., the Oakland-based company behind e.l.f. Cosmetics, e.l.f. SKIN, Well People, Keys Soulcare and Naturium. Its postings call it the "#2 mass cosmetics brand in the US" with $1 billion of net sales in fiscal year 2025, per an archived summer 2026 intern posting. There's no branded program page. Each team posts its own req and calls its interns "e.l.f.terns", mostly in marketing, design and consumer insights in New York and Los Angeles.
When Do e.l.f. Beauty Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?
e.l.f. recruits req by req rather than in one wave. The earliest archived copy of a summer 2026 intern posting is 22 January 2026 (a Los Angeles influencer role), and about a dozen New York roles first appear on 18 March, which puts the postings roughly 2.5 to 4.5 months before the June 1 start. The same pattern held a year earlier, when summer 2025 roles first appear on 11 February. Those dates are archive captures, so they're lower bounds on the real posting dates. Year-round part-time interns were a separate cohort in 2025, posted from April to November, and none are open now.
Nothing to apply for yet: e.l.f.'s board had no intern postings on 25 October 2026. Use the fall to build the proof its reqs ask for, such as a consumer insights project, a social campaign or a design portfolio, and save a Lever alert.
Prepare. Finish your portfolio or deck, update your resume for a rising junior or senior profile, and pick the New York or Los Angeles teams you'd target.
Expected: applications for summer 2027 open role by role. Last cycle the first archived copy is 22 January 2026 and the big New York batch is 18 March. Check the board every week.
Expected: interviews and offers spread across the spring. Last year an applicant reported an interview in late February and another reported an acceptance in late May.
Interns start June 1 and finish in late August (August 21 on most reqs). e.l.f. doesn't publish a conversion rate.
How to read this page: our dates come from tracking previous recruiting cycles and daily posting data. Treat them as informed estimates based on historical patterns, not confirmed dates. The company's official careers page is always the most current source. If a role is posted there, go by that, even if this page suggests the window hasn't opened yet.
Why You Must Apply the Week Applications Open
e.l.f.'s postings don't state a closing date or say that applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so we can't promise either. What the evidence shows is a long hiring spread: a Los Angeles role was up by late January, interviews were reported in late February, a big New York batch appeared in mid-March and acceptances were still going out in late May. That spread means seats fill role by role while other postings are still arriving. Apply to a req within days of seeing it, and don't wait for the whole batch to appear.
Which e.l.f. Beauty Internship Programs Should You Target?
These are the groups of US intern roles e.l.f. posted for summer 2026 and 2025.
| Track | Focus | Duration | Key skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer marketing and creator interns (New York, Los Angeles) | Community management, influencer marketing, social commerce, loyalty and CRM, lifecycle marketing, Amazon for Naturium | June 1 to Aug 21 (Aug 28 for one LA role) | TikTok and Instagram fluency, writing, Excel; $20/hr |
| Summer design interns (New York, Los Angeles) | Graphic design, packaging, visual merchandising, digital campaigns | June 1 to Aug 21 | Adobe Creative Suite, portfolio; $20/hr |
| Summer insights intern (New York) | Consumer and market trend analysis for the beauty category | June 1 to Aug 21 | Excel, SQL and SPSS, Tableau or Power BI; $20/hr |
| Year-round part-time interns (2025 cohort) | Product development, planning, sourcing, regulatory, IT, retail analytics, editorial | About 20 hours a week | Role-specific; $20–$24/hr; none posted now |
e.l.f. has no programs page, so the Lever board is the only place roles appear.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements?
e.l.f. sets requirements per req. These come from the 14 summer 2026 intern postings.
• Class year: 13 of 14 asked for a rising junior or senior at the time of the internship. The Community Management req asked for a current sophomore or junior.
• Availability: every summer req asked for the full period starting June 1, ending August 21 on most and August 28 on the Los Angeles influencer role. Community Management asked for at least 18 hours a week.
• Location: New York reqs asked for people based in the New York area, in the office two to three days a week. Los Angeles reqs asked for at least three days in the office.
• Degree: field-specific, such as marketing, communications, graphic design, business analytics or consumer behavior.
• GPA and work authorization: not stated in the postings we read.
Do I Have to Be a Rising Junior or Senior?
For almost every req, yes, but "rising junior" means a current sophomore who'll be a junior in the fall. One applicant said they were accepted as a sophomore in late May 2026, and Community Management asked for sophomores or juniors outright. If you're a first-year student, e.l.f.'s reqs don't show a role for you yet, so build a project now and aim for next cycle.
What Skills Does e.l.f. Beauty Look For, and How Do You Build Them?
Three groups run through e.l.f.'s summer 2026 reqs. Communication and organization are in nearly all of them: all 14 ask for written or verbal communication and 13 for attention to detail. Brand and platform fluency follows, with 12 asking for passion for beauty or skincare and four asking for fluency in TikTok, Instagram or YouTube. Tools depend on the team: 10 name Excel, PowerPoint or Google Workspace, and five name Adobe, Figma or Canva.
What e.l.f. Beauty looks for in interns
Skills across 14 e.l.f. Beauty intern & analyst job descriptions · summer 2026 intern reqs, archived Jan–Mar 2026
Method: keyword count across the requirements section of 14 summer 2026 intern postings on e.l.f. Beauty's Lever board, read from archived copies dated 22 January to 18 March 2026. Single-employer sample of marketing, design and insights roles; the "analytical" count only includes reqs that name it in the requirements list.
How Is Demand for Marketing Interns Moving Right Now?
Marketing intern postings · Sep vs Aug 2026
vs 1,424 in August
For e.l.f. Beauty applicants: e.l.f.'s own board had no intern postings on 25 October 2026, and its summer 2026 roles went up between January and March. Marketing postings elsewhere are already climbing, so use the gap to build proof.
Daily US job-posting counts, Sep 1–30 vs Aug 1–31, 2026. Covers under half of US postings; shows direction, not market size.
Build These Skills Before You Apply
Each row maps a skill from e.l.f.'s summer 2026 reqs to a remote Externship that produces a finished project.
| Skill (from real JDs) | JD evidence | Externship that builds it |
|---|---|---|
| Social and creative campaign strategy | Influencer Marketing intern: "campaign execution, influencer gifting, performance tracking, and trend monitoring" | Beats by Dre Creative Advertising Strategy |
| Consumer insights | Marketing Insights intern: collect, analyze and report "consumer and market trends within the beauty industry" | Health-Ade Consumer Behavior & Insights |
| Loyalty and app engagement | Loyalty & CRM intern: badges, challenges and games to engage Beauty Squad members | BeReal Product Management |
| Data analysis in Excel and SQL | Marketing Insights intern: "Proficient in Excel for data analysis"; familiarity with SQL and SPSS | Breaking Games SQL & Database Architecture |
None of these Externships is affiliated with e.l.f. Beauty. Most run about 8 weeks, so one started in November can finish before the first summer 2027 postings appear.
What Is the e.l.f. Beauty Application and Interview Process Like?
e.l.f. doesn't publish its intern hiring steps, so this combines its postings with one first-hand report.
1. Watch the board. Intern roles are separate reqs on the Lever board, one per team and brand, so check it every week from January.
2. Apply per role. Each posting has its own application, including brand-specific ones such as the Naturium Amazon intern.
3. Interview. One applicant on r/internships described a very conversational interview in early March 2026 that tested how well they knew the beauty industry. That's a single report, so expect variation by team.
4. Hear back. Replies were spread over months: an interview invitation in late February and an acceptance in late May 2026.
e.l.f. doesn't publish how many rounds there are or when offers go out.
What Students on Reddit Say
Only one Reddit thread had first-hand intern detail for this guide, so there's one card below rather than three.
An applicant who landed an interview said it was very conversational with no trick questions, but the interviewers wanted to see how much they knew about the beauty industry and how they use it day to day. Another commenter said they were accepted as a sophomore in very late May, around when rejections for other roles went out.
How Do You Stand Out for an e.l.f. Beauty Internship?
First, match the req exactly: 13 of 14 summer reqs wanted a rising junior or senior who's free for the whole period from June 1. Second, show you live in the category. The reqs ask for fluency in TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, and an applicant said the interview tested beauty-industry knowledge, so bring specific products, creators and campaigns you've studied. Third, send proof: a deck, a design portfolio or an analysis that fits the team you're applying to. e.l.f. doesn't publish applicant counts or a conversion rate.
What Other Companies Should You Consider?
These beauty companies recruit the same marketing and design students.
- Ulta Beautythe largest US beauty retailer, with corporate and merchandising internshipsGuide →
- Sephoraprestige beauty retail with marketing and e-commerce rolesGuide →
- Estée Lauderprestige brand portfolio, a step up in size from e.l.f.Guide →
- L'Oréalthe global leader in mass and professional beautyGuide →
- Cotyfragrance and cosmetics house with a New York baseGuide →
For more fashion and beauty employers, see our fashion and beauty internships summer 2027 guide.
FAQ
Can I still apply for a summer 2026 e.l.f. Beauty internship?
No. Summer 2026 roles have ended, and e.l.f.'s Lever board listed no intern postings on 25 October 2026. The next door is summer 2027, expected to open between January and April 2027 based on last cycle, so use the fall to prepare and set a job alert.
When do summer 2027 e.l.f. Beauty internship applications open?
Not announced. Archived copies of last year's summer postings first appear between 22 January and 18 March 2026 for a June 1 start, so applications for summer 2027 are expected between January and April 2027. Those are lower bounds on the real posting dates, so check the board weekly.
How much does e.l.f. Beauty pay interns?
Every summer 2026 intern posting listed $20 an hour. Year-round part-time intern postings in 2025 listed $20 to $24 an hour. These figures come from archived copies of e.l.f.'s own job pages, and no 2027 pay has been posted yet.
How long is the e.l.f. Beauty summer internship?
Summer 2026 roles ran from June 1 to August 21, and the Los Angeles influencer role ran to August 28. The Community Management posting asked for at least 18 hours a week. Roles are hybrid, with two to three or more days in the office.
Who can apply for an e.l.f. Beauty internship?
Thirteen of 14 summer 2026 postings asked for a rising junior or senior, and Community Management asked for a sophomore or junior. All wanted availability for the full period from June 1. The postings we read don't state a GPA or work authorization rule.
Where are e.l.f. Beauty internships located?
Summer 2026 roles were in New York and Los Angeles, and 2025 IT and product roles were in Oakland, where e.l.f. is headquartered. New York postings asked for people based in the New York area. None of the postings we read were fully remote.
Does e.l.f. Beauty offer year-round internships?
It did in 2025. Part-time intern roles of about 20 hours a week appeared from April to November 2025 in product development, planning, sourcing, regulatory and IT. None were posted on 25 October 2026, so don't count on a fall cohort.
Does e.l.f. Beauty hire interns full-time?
e.l.f. doesn't publish a conversion rate or return-offer policy for interns. Its postings describe the internship as hands-on experience, and full-time roles post separately on the same Lever board. Treat the internship as a way to build contacts and proof for a later application.
e.l.f.'s next intern postings are expected in early 2027. Set a Lever alert now, and if you want a finished project to discuss, a remote Externship can wrap up before they appear.
About the Author
Bifei Wang has spent 17 years focused on human flow and the growth of young professionals, spanning international education, career training and coaching, and recruitment process outsourcing. Over 7 years at Extern, he has had one-on-one sessions with thousands of students exploring careers in consulting, finance, tech, marketing, and data, giving him a firsthand view of how the job market has shifted for early-career professionals and what it actually takes to break in.
