8 Colorado tech companies you should intern with

by Doug Pitorak
April 8, 2015

Whether students and recent graduates land a job at the company they intern for or simply make industry connections and gain experience, there is no doubting the value of a good internship program. 

With that said, finding the right internship can be a challenge. That's why we've rounded up eight of the best internships at Colorado tech companies. Read on to see what executives, team members and interns themselves have to say about these awesome programs!

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Austin Gurley, sales associate, on...

The program: This summer, our interns will have the unique ability to make a direct impact on a high-growth, fast-paced startup. Not only will our interns gain department-specific experience, they will also be exposed to a variety of broader business functions by working with proven leaders across several key business functions. We will provide weekly cross-departmental development opportunities, and interns will participate in a dedicated mentorship program. At the conclusion of the program, our interns will leave with strong, relevant experience that will help them build the foundations for career success.

Whom Ibotta is looking for: Ibotta has an exceptional summer internship opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students in downtown Denver. We have a variety of roles across the sales, marketing, analytics, and engineering functions.
 



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Mel Torgusen, director of empowerment, on...

The program: We give our interns a lot of “real” work to do, and they can see a measurable impact they have on the business and have concrete experience for their resume. I guarantee no fetching coffee or dry cleaning (editor's note: Torgusen sent along this blog post by former intern Carey Mott, and if it is any indication, PaySimple interns certainly learn a lot!).

Whom PaySimple is looking for: We are looking for engineering, marketing, and product development interns.



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Katie Green, Sr. people manager-recruiting, on...

The program: The Return Path Email Genius Academy is a 12-week paid summer internship program. Projects are determined by managers with input from the selected students to ensure that work is valuable both to students and the company. These can range from bite-sized feature development projects to large operational undertakings, such as building the systems that enable us to deliver fast, scalable and reliable services to clients. We arm our interns with the best technology available — you choose the tools you need to be successful. The Genius Academy experience includes weekly lunches with different departments of the company, allowing interns to learn about other aspects of a functioning company beyond the department they are working in. And, it does happen that interns get hired, too! We have former Email Geniuses working in marketing, legal, product management and engineering.

Whom Return Path is looking for: Positions available to undergrad and graduate students for summer 2015 in Broomfield, CO include: software engineer intern, knowledge management intern, user experience intern.


 

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Courtney Walsh, corporate communications, on...

The program: As sovrn grows, there continues to be new and awesome opportunities. Our interns are going to have the chance to make an impact on the team they work with. Our goal is not only to add to our team, but make sure that each intern takes something away, and feels they have grown once they're done with the internship. During the sovrn internship, each intern will have the chance to meet with leadership, participate in great events and enjoy a fast-growing company.

Whom Sovrn is looking for: Engineers, students interested in the AdTech industry and anyone who is business-minded.



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Steve Swoboda, COO, CFO and co-founder, on...

The program: From day one, interns are treated as full members of the SpotX family, and taken on with the hope they’ll stay with the business in a permanent capacity. Alex Chernos (pictured below & left) is our most recent example, having started as an intern in June 2014 before taking a position as marketing coordinator in August. 

Given AdTech can be a complicated space, interns are given a thorough onboarding, including an introduction to our domain, business and technology. We place them with a dedicated team, and assign a supervisor to act as a mentor for the duration of their internship. They’re expected to attend all department meetings, stand ups and planning with their team, and are given tasks with specific timeframes and feedback processes to ensure learning on the job. Interns can expect to receive a solid grounding in the digital and technology fields – useful actionable skills that can be transferred into the many related areas of what are fast-growing industries. They are given training and practical experience in some or all of their degree-related area. Interns can expect a fast-paced environment where they will be working on real-world affairs. And they can expect a fun, casual culture that mixes startup agility and ingenuity with the elevated standing our fast-growing, global business offers.

Whom SpotX is looking for: Product marketing intern (min. 3 years in school), training intern — training & development (min. 2 years in school), and demand operations intern - client services (min. 2 years in school).



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Mallory Bowers, corporate communications, on...

The program: We have a fun work environment and our software engineer interns will get a chance to participate in the Colorado Technology Association’s Foundation internship program, learning even more professional and life skills.

Whom Swiftpage is looking for: Software engineers and marketing interns.



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Caleb Robison, director of corporate relations, on...

The program: Wishlist interns, truly, have the opportunity to transform and cultivate the landscape of the Wishlist product. As our company continues to grow and scale, interns hold a large role in contributing to the overall vision, product, and culture of Wishlist as a whole. The Wishlist internship is, by no means, a "go-get-coffee" type of experience, but rather an opportunity for true professional growth.

Whom Wishlist is looking for: Sales/marketing and software development interns. The suggested year in school is either junior or senior standing.

 

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Simone Johnson (pictured below & right), current marketing intern, on...

The program:

As an intern at Quick Left you can expect to gain skills in everything from inbound to outbound marketing strategy, blogging, SEO optimization techniques, prospecting potential clients, designing content like eBooks, and developing internal collateral for marketing and sales in order to better define the company processes and strategies.

Whom Quick Left is looking for: Quick Left looks for interns that have a technical background in addition to marketing skills. It isn’t necessary that an intern be a marketing major, so long as they have experience within the field. At Quick Left there’s a lot of jargon and content associated with software development and the company has come to notice that interns and the company benefit most when the intern has a solid understanding of coding languages, development frameworks, and technical terms. In addition, it is a plus if the intern has design skills in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign since much of the marketing content is developed by the marketing team. Quick Left looks for interns with two to four years of their undergraduate degree completed. Rachel Scott (VP Marketing Communications) looks for applicants who have the ability to work well with others and manage a large amount of content between teams and across channels. Applicants should have a strong desire to learn new things and be able to put themselves outside of their comfort zone. Quick Left gives their interns real work that serves to benefit the company, so interns should never be afraid to give their input and offer fresh insights into ideas and projects.

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