Student Trainee (Interdisciplinary)

Full Job Description

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress.

We accomplish our mission by providing objective and reliable information and analysis to the Congress, to federal agencies, and to the public, and recommending improvements, when appropriate, on a wide variety of issues to make government work better.

This vacancy is for Summer internship positions in GAO's Innovation Lab. The anticipated start dates begin in May 2026. All qualification requirements must be met by the start of the internship.

To qualify for the GS-4 level you MUST be enrolled in a Bachelor's degree program majoring in Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Data Science or a degree related to this position, AND meet one of the following criteria: You must have completed 60 semester hours or 90 quarter credits of Bachelor's level education; OR You must possess an Associate's degree.

NOTE: You must be a current student enrolled in a Bachelor's program seeking a degree from an accredited educational institution on a full or half-time basis.

If at any point during the internship (and for any reason) your status as a student changes to that of a non-student, your internship will be terminated. Major Duties:

GAO's Innovation Lab uses data science and technology to enhance GAO's oversight capabilities and internal operations.

The Innovation Lab is a part of GAO's Science Technology Assessment and Analytics (STAA) mission team. The Lab offers GAO a way to navigate through complex, ambiguous, and unprecedented challenges.

It is deliberately de-coupled from GAO's on-going audit work in order to create an experimentation and exploration-focused atmosphere.

As a GAO intern, you will assist Innovation Lab teams in developing tools related to oversight of federal programs or enhancement of GAO internal operations; in planning and scoping the development of these tools; in collecting and analyzing appropriate data; and in presenting information (including developmental prototypes) both orally and in writing to diverse audiences.

Specific duties include: Completes well-defined assignments spanning functional areas designed to provide a broad experience in mathematics, data science, computer science, or statistics.

Coordinates with higher-level professional staff, and receives on-the- job instruction/training. Participates in well-defined portions of the lifecycle of a data science prototype or analysis.

Present information and prototypes in meetings with GAO and agency officials, as part of the team working on the project. Learn and use appropriate tools for assignments.

Potential tools could include R, python, or cloud-based commercial services SQL, SAS, or STATA. Performs other duties as assigned.