About Our Job

What We Offer

This internship is an on-call position, which means it is a part-time, hourly role. The City and County of Denver offers a competitive pay rate to commensurate with education, with the pay range for this position between $21.42 - $24.14 hourly based on level of education. This position is eligible to enroll in the City and County of Denver’s 457b retirement plan. This position is not eligible for other additional benefits. On-call positions may have routine or variable work schedules.

Location Flexibility

The City and County of Denver supports a hybrid workplace model with a required 3 days in office. Employees work where needed to support business at Denver International Airport (DEN). We do not offer housing or relocation assistance for this position. Employees must work within the state of Colorado.

Internship Duration and Hours

This is a 1-year internship from Monday, June 1, 2026 - Friday, May 15, 2027, hours typically vary between 20-39 hours a week during the summer and 15-30 hours a week during school semesters. The DENtern’s work schedule will be flexible to accommodate their current academic commitments. Hours not exceeding 39 hours a week or 1,559 hours over a year.

Who We Are & What You’ll Do

Since opening on Feb. 28, 1995, Denver International Airport (DEN) has become one of the world’s busiest airports. In 2025, 82,427,962 passengers passed through DEN, making DEN 4th busiest airport in the U.S. and the world’s 10th busiest airport. DEN is Colorado’s primary economic engine, generating $47.2 billion in annual economic impact for the state. At DEN, we are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace. We celebrate individuality and strive to keep Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility (EDIA) at the center of all that we do.      

Through the DEN Intern (nicknamed “DENtern”) Program, students gain real world experience in aviation and workforce development while building professional skills. DENterns participate in a cohort-based model that emphasizes networking, collaboration, and professional growth, attending all scheduled professional development sessions, tours, and engaging in impactful projects across the airport.

DEN’s Analytics and Innovation Department is actively seeking an Innovation Project Associate DENtern to contribute to their division. As part of DEN's Strategic Plan, Vision 100, which envisions reaching 100 million annual passengers, Analytics and Innovation plays a pivotal role in transforming the aviation industry.

The Innovation Team drives forward-thinking projects and pilots that enhance the passenger experience and operational efficiency across the airport. We explore emerging technologies, develop proof-of-concept initiatives, and collaborate with internal stakeholders to identify and implement solutions that improve processes under the Operations umbrella, including Maintenance, Technical Operations, Asset Management, and Parking. Our work ensures DEN remains at the forefront of airport innovation by testing, validating, and scaling ideas that deliver measurable value.

As a DENtern you will get to experience working alongside Analytics and Innovation including projects such as, but not limited to:

Project #1: Innovation Pilot Project Management

Manage end-to-end coordination of small-scale pilot projects, including planning, execution, reporting, and recommendations for next steps

Assist with contracting and vendor coordination for upcoming innovation projects and pilots.

Project #2: Dashboard Development & Insights Reporting

Create dashboards and data visual summaries that support pilot evaluation and internal decision‑making.

Project #3: Passenger Experience & Accessibility Initiatives

Support cross-department collaboration to improve accessibility and enhance customer experience across airport operations.

Project #4: Aviation Megatrend Research

Collaborate with a team of fellow DENterns to conduct discovery research on a key aviation megatrend. This includes gathering data, interviewing industry experts, and analyzing findings. At the end of the summer, your team will present insights to DEN’s executive leadership to help shape strategic innovation and prepare the airport for the future.

What You’ll Bring

Our ideal candidate has some or all the following interests, characteristics and skills:

• A strong interest in emerging aviation technologies and how innovation shapes the future of passenger experience and airport operations.

• Curiosity about real‑world experimentation, especially how pilot projects are designed, tested, and evaluated before being adopted at scale.

• A systems‑thinking mindset, interested in understanding how processes, data, and technology interact across a complex airport environment.

• Experience or interest in working with SQL databases and queries, and a desire to apply or deepen that knowledge in real-world projects

• An enthusiasm for stakeholder engagement, especially working with technical teams, vendors, and operational partners to move projects forward.

• A desire to explore the intersection of analytics and innovation, including how insights inform strategic decision‑making and proof‑of‑concept design.

• An interest in project lifecycle learning, including scoping, planning, documentation, evaluation, and presenting findings to leadership.

Desired Skill Set:

• Creativity: Generating innovative ideas and solutions

• Initiative: Proactively identifying tasks and opportunities

• Critical Thinking: Looking at information from different angles, asking questions, and using evidence to make clear, well-supported ideas and recommendations

• Multitasking: Handling multiple tasks simultaneously without losing quality

• Teamwork: Ability to collaborate effectively with others

Minimum Qualifications

• Education Requirement: This position is open to students currently enrolled in an accredited college program leading to a certificate, licensure, associates, bachelors, higher degree, or up to one year post college graduation.

• Experience: None 

• Education and Experience Equivalency: No substitution of experience for education is permitted. 

Mandatory documentation required to be considered for this position:

• 1–2-page resume

• Transcripts – either official or unofficial; dated within your current academic term. This is only used to verify amounts of credits; grades will not influence decisions.

Optional Documents

• Cover letter detailing why you are interested in this position and 3-5 new skills, experiences, or tools you are hoping to take away from this experience.

Application Deadline 

This position is expected to stay open until Sunday, February 22, 2026. Please submit your application as soon as possible and no later than February 22nd at 11:59 PM.

FBI Background Check: FBI criminal background check is required for all positions at Denver International Airport (DEN). Employees are also required to report any felony convictions and/or

About Everything Else

Job Profile

TA3182 Professional Technical Intern

To view the full job profile including position specifications, physical demands, and probationary period, click here.

Position Type

Oncall

Position Salary Range

$21.42 - $24.21

Target Pay

$21.42 - $24.14 hourly

Agency

Denver International Airport

The City and County of Denver provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or any other status protected under federal, state, and/or local law. 

It is your right to access oral or written language assistance, sign language interpretation, real-time captioning via CART, or disability-related accommodations. To request any of these services at no cost to you, please contact [email protected] with three business days’ notice.

Applicants for employment with the City and County of Denver must have valid work authorization that does not require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the U.S.

For information about right to work, click here for English or here for Spanish.