Internship – Data & Programming

CRU International is a leading provider of business intelligence and consulting services in the metals, mining, and fertilizer industries. With over 50 years of experience, we deliver insight and analysis that help clients make informed decisions in fast-changing global markets.

About the role

CRU is developing an AI-powered Supply Chain Risk Tracker and is seeking a Data & Programming Intern to help build the methodology and data foundations behind the service.

This is a hands‑on opportunity to contribute to:

• sentiment index development
• data engineering and preparation
• production-ready Python code
• the application of data science and generative AI in a commercial commodities product

You will work closely with internal subject‑matter experts and the technology team supporting the broader product build.

Key responsibilities

Sentiment index development

• Source relevant internal textual data
• Clean, structure and prepare data so it is machine‑readable and suitable for ingestion into LLMs and other models
• Build sentiment index methodology in code, iterating with internal subject‑matter experts who will interpret results

Data preparation and engineering

• Clean and organise numerical and textual datasets from internal and third‑party sources
• Establish reproducible workflows to support maintainable and extensible data pipelines

Methodology

• Work with subject‑matter experts to validate conceptual risk methodologies and translate them into robust, well‑documented code
• Identify technical requirements that arise during development and help deliver solutions

Generative AI and modern techniques

• Use CRU’s internal access to AI tools to accelerate data preparation, tagging and analysis
• Apply techniques such as tag analysis, aspect‑based sentiment analysis and related NLP methods
• Contribute fresh thinking on relevant and emerging techniques

Early‑stage prototyping

• Support early development in Excel where appropriate, before migrating to more scalable code‑based solutions
• Work closely with internal subject‑matter experts and the internal technology team building the online tool
• Support smooth collaboration across teams, while the intern focuses on methodology, data and analysis rather than front‑end development

Qualifications

• Master’s‑level graduate, or nearing completion of a Master’s, in a quantitative discipline such as Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, Economics, or a related field
• Equivalent academic or practical experience will also be considered

Skills and experience

• Strong working knowledge of Python and familiarity with SQL
• Solid grounding in applied statistics or econometrics
• Strong Excel skills for early prototyping and data management
• Interest in commodities and practical commercial applications of technical skills
• Experience cleaning, structuring and organising datasets, including unstructured textual data
• Practical exposure to generative AI and large language models, including preparing data for LLM ingestion
• Familiarity with sentiment analysis, entity recognition, and related NLP techniques
• Experience building indices, scores or composite metrics from raw data is desirable
• Exposure to third‑party data sources and integration challenges is desirable
• Awareness of reproducibility best practices, including version control such as Git and code documentation
• Self‑starter with the ability to work independently and proactively identify needs
• Strong collaboration skills, especially when working with subject‑matter experts and technology colleagues
• Clear written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain advanced methods to non‑specialists
• Prior project work, academic or professional, involving the construction of an index, score or composite metric from raw data
• Exposure to third‑party data sources and the practicalities of integrating them
• Awareness of reproducibility best practices, including version control and code documentation

What you will get from CRU

• Real‑world application of advanced data science and generative AI techniques in the commodities sector
• Access to state‑of‑the‑art LLMs via CRU’s internal tooling
• Close working relationships with experienced commodity experts and an internal technology team
• The opportunity to contribute to a new commercial service from the ground up

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