Internship: Research Intern - Denver

Department Information

Pay: $19.16 - $26.77 per hour depending on qualifications.

This is a paid temporary part‑time to full‑time position (24–40 hours per week), with a maximum duration of 9 months from the date of hire.

Temporary employees accrue paid sick leave—one hour for every 30 hours worked, capped at 48 hours.

Do you want to make a difference in Coloradans’ lives? Do you have a passion for helping people and keeping them safe? At the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), you’ll have the opportunity to do just that. The work our people do contributes to keeping Coloradans and visitors safe and provides freedom, connection, and experience through travel. Please visit our careers page to learn about CDOT and how we are making Colorado a great place to live, work and play, now and for the future!

CDOT’s strength is our people, and our commitment to our people is to shape, support, and sustain the employee experience, and ultimately, create a supportive workplace where everyone, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status, education, disability, socio‑economic status, or any other identity, has the opportunity to thrive.

The Research Intern works in the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT's) Office of Applied Research. The mission of the Office of Applied Research is to save lives, save Colorado citizens time and money, and preserve the environment through research and development activities. This includes the development and implementation of innovative methods, products, and materials in transportation, as well as developing actionable knowledge for policy development.

The Research Branch is seeking an intern to provide information management and tool development utilizing the appropriate technology and resources. This position will dive into the real‑world challenges of managing the flow of research results and requests that flow to CDOT.

• Investigate the Distribution of Research Knowledge including mapping the flow of high‑value knowledge, including National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Reports, University Transportation Center (UTC) results, and national consortium proposals—from entrance to the Department through their path to the right decision‑makers.
• Analyze Collaboration Networks including working with CDOT staff to learn how to identify internal subject matter experts and how to expand collaborations.
• Identify Barriers in Knowledge Processes:
  Transform "information overload" into a streamlined pipeline by identifying bottlenecks in how we receive and process surveys, webinar announcements, and research project proposals.

• Own the continuing development and deployment of an internal application using Google tools (App Sheet, Apps Script, Vertex AI, Big Query).
• Scale and improve a system to ingest research sources and intelligently match them with internal experts.
• Test, refine, and document the tool for long‑term sustainability.
• Apply design thinking and change management principles to ensure the application isn't just built, but actually adopted.
• Facilitate stakeholder feedback to refine the user experience and scaling strategy.
• Explore high‑impact extensions of the application, such as evolving it into a dynamic directory of organizational skills, roles, and professional interests.

Other duties as assigned.

• This position is based at CDOT's Statewide Headquarters Complex located at 2829 W. Howard Place, Denver, CO 80204.
• Expected hybrid office/home work schedule Monday – Friday with Mondays and Tuesdays in the office.
• It is anticipated that this role will work 24‑40 hours per week with a minimum of 24 hours per week.

• A recent college graduate. Recently graduated means you should have attended an accredited college or university and have graduated with an Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD degree in information science, computer science, engineering or a…