Data Science & AI Developer Intern

Overview

• The Data Science and Automation Team at Health Canada’s Pesticides Regulatory Directorate (aka PMRA) is seeking recent graduates or student interns through the Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP).
• This position combines data science, advanced AI, and software development to support regulatory modernization and automation initiatives. The selected candidate will contribute to the design, development, and evaluation of AI-driven and data-driven solutions used in real-world government regulatory systems.
• Interns will work in a collaborative Scrum-based environment and receive mentorship from senior data science and software engineering leads.

• Position Details
• Position Type: Full-time (37.5 hours/week), with possible part-time arrangements
• Start Date: as early as August 1, 2026
• Duration: 4 months, with possibility of extension and future employment opportunities
• Work Arrangement: Hybrid (4 days onsite)
• Location: Ottawa, Ontario (College Square area)
• Compensation:
• - Master’s students: starting at $25.17/hour
• - Doctoral students: starting at $29.64/hour
• - Graduates: starting at $36.07/hour
• Language Requirement: English essential

• Eligibility
• Requirements include:
• Legal Status: Canadian citizens or permanent residents
• Academic Level: Master’s or PhD
• Security Clearance: Ability to obtain and maintain federal government security clearance of “Reliability Status”

Responsibilities

Responsibilities may include:

• Collaborating with cross-functional teams to understand business needs, data requirements, and regulatory processes
• Conducting data preprocessing, cleaning, validation, and analysis to ensure data quality and compatibility
• Researching and experimenting with traditional and modern AI/ML techniques
• Developing and evaluating Machine Learning and Generative AI solutions using supervised and unsupervised methods
• Applying Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques to analyze unstructured data sources
• Building proof-of-concept and production-oriented AI applications using object-oriented programming principles
• Developing data visualizations and communicating technical findings to non-technical stakeholders
• Participating in Agile Scrum activities including standups, sprint planning, team reviews, and achieving goals in 2-week sprints

Qualifications

• Required:
• Background in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, or a related field
• Experience with Python programming
• Familiarity with:
• predictive and descriptive modeling in ML
• transformers and other NLP techniques
• prompt engineering and GenAI LLMs
• data manipulation and preprocessing
• SQL and relational databases
• software development and testing practices
• Git-based version control
• REST APIs
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• Ability to write technical documentation and explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences

Assets:

• Experience or familiarity with:
• Responsible AI practices
• Object-oriented programming (OOP)
• Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems
• Vector databases
• Cloud and analytics platforms such as:
• - MS Azure
• - MS Fabric
• - MS Foundry
• - Databricks
• - Power BI

• How to Apply
• Please submit the following materials ONLY if you fully meet the above Eligibility and Qualifications:
• Resume
• Cover letter (highlighting your relevant experience and why you are interested to join us)
• Sample of Python code or relevant project work

Send applications to:

[email protected]

Subject line:

DS/AI Internship Application – [FirstName] [LastName]

Application deadline: June 30, 2026

Interview: Only selected candidates will be reached out by July 10, 2026, for a virtual interview

• Equity and Inclusion
• Health Canada is an equal opportunity employer, and we encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply.
• Join us in applying data science and AI to support public health and regulatory innovation in pest management.