Summer 2026 - Planning/Reporting/Communications Intern - 90304320 - Washington
Washington, DC, US, 20002
Your success is a train ride away!
As we move America’s workforce toward the future, Amtrak connects businesses and communities across the country. We employ more than 20,000 diverse, energetic professionals in a variety of career fields throughout the United States. The safety of our passengers, our employees, the public and our operating environment is our priority, and the success of our railroad is due to our employees.
Are you ready to join our team?
Our values of ‘Do the Right Thing, Excel Together and Put Customers First’ are at the heart of what matters most to us, and our Core Capabilities, ‘Building Trust, Accountability, Effective Communication, Customer Focus, and Proactive Safety & Security’ are what every employee needs to know and do to be most impactful at Amtrak. By living the Amtrak values, focusing on our capabilities, and actively embracing and fostering diverse ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives, together we will honor our past and make Amtrak a company of the future.
Job Summary
Summer 2026 program will run from May 18th - August 7, 2026.
The graduate-level intern will assist the Northeast Corridor Commission with its planning initiatives. The Commission was established by Congress in the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 to coordinate agencies that share the region’s core rail network. The Commission is administratively hosted by Amtrak.
The Commission seeks a current graduate student to support its planning, reporting, and communications initiatives. These include the five-year NEC Capital Investment Plan and any associated infrastructure reporting activities. Other ongoing support may include analysis of economic impacts of investments along the Northeast Corridor, train performance analysis (delay, on-time performance, etc), and other analyses that may be featured in blog posts or reporting spotlight stories.
The intern will work closely with a collaborative team and will have the opportunity to shape project work in coordination with Commission staff. The intern will support the preparation of public materials (including maps, data visualizations, written material for plans and reports, and website content), data collection, and other tasks as assigned. The intern will also lead and complete a summer-long project. Successful candidates will demonstrate a willingness to undertake unfamiliar initiatives and strong enthusiasm for the Commission’s work.
The internship is a full-time, paid position during Summer 2026 based out of the Commission’s Washington, DC office (with potential to work out of New York City; OR Philadelphia) with a 4-5 day per week in-person schedule. The internship has the potential to continue as a part-time opportunity (minimum 16 hours per week) during the subsequent school year.
Essential Functions
The intern will support the following project-based work:
- Use Microsoft Excel and PowerBI to organize and analyze data;
- Work with NECC staff to collect data from NEC project sponsors;
- Write and/or edit content that is meant for non-technical audiences; and
- Create easy-to-understand tables, graphics, and data visualizations in Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, and/or Microsoft PowerBI.
- In addition, the intern will work in collaboration with Commission staff to develop, lead, and complete a summer-long project, such as:
- Undertake a research project on topic(s) related to NEC planning and reporting;
- Write case studies or explainers to help educate non-technical audiences;
- Create tools to help staff standardize the look and feel of documents, tables/ charts, and dashboards; and/or
- Update and enhance existing graphics that are used in public materials.
Minimum Qualifications
- Must be actively pursuing a degree at an accredited educational institution.
- Must be actively pursuing a graduate degree in public policy, urban planning, engineering or program management at an accredited educational institution.
- Must have a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or higher.
- Strong skills in written, verbal, and graphic communication of quantitative and qualitative information, including the ability to clearly express technical concepts to broad audiences.
- Strong attention to detail with both data organization/analysis and graphic design.
- Comfort with using Microsoft Excel to organize and analyze data.
- Comfort with Adobe Creative Cloud, particularly Illustrator and InDesign.
- Ability to stay organized and maintain attention to detail under tight deadlines.
- Must have excellent written and oral communication skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience collecting, evaluating, and interpreting quantitative data.
- Experience using ArcGIS or other similar mapping software.
- Experience with using or willingness to learn Microsoft PowerBI or SQL is a plus.
Communications and Interpersonal Skills
- Must have excellent oral and written communication skills.
PAY TRANSPARENCY:
The hourly range is $17.50 per hour - $35.00 per hour. Pay is based on factors including school year, program of study, etc. In addition, paid internships include Amtrak rail pass privileges as a part of the experience along with one (1) PTO day per academic year.
Requisition ID:165331
Work Arrangement:06-Onsite 4/5 Days Click here for more information about work arrangements at Amtrak.
Relocation Offered:No
Travel Requirements:Up to 25%
Recruiter Name:Antoinette Seals
Recruiter Email: Antoinette.Seals@amtrak.com
You power our progress through your performance.
We want your work at Amtrak to be more than a job. We want your career at Amtrak to be a fulfilling experience where you find challenging work, rewarding opportunities, respect among colleagues, and attractive compensation. Amtrak maintains a culture that values high performance and recognizes individual employee contributions.
Amtrak is committed to a safe workplace free of drugs and alcohol. All Amtrak positions requires a pre-employment background check that includes prior employment verification, a criminal history check and a pre-employment drug screen.
Candidates who test positive for marijuana will be disqualified, regardless of any state or local statute, ordinance, regulation, or other law that legalizes or decriminalizes the use or possession of marijuana, whether for medical, recreational, or other use. Amtrak's pre-employment drug testing program is administered in accordance with DOT regulations and applicable law.
In accordance with DOT regulations (49 CFR § 40.25), Amtrak is required to obtain prior drug and alcohol testing records for applicants/employees intending to perform safety-sensitive duties for covered Department of Transportation positions. If an applicant/employee refuses to provide written consent for Amtrak to obtain these records, the individual will not be permitted to perform safety-sensitive functions.
In accordance with federal law governing security checks of covered individuals for providers of public transportation (Title 6 U.S.C. §1143), Amtrak is required to screen applicants for any permanent or interim disqualifying criminal offenses.
Note that any education requirement listed above may be deemed satisfied if you have an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
Amtrak is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race/color, to include traits historically associated with race, including but not limited to, hair texture and hairstyles such as braids, locks and twists, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions, such as lactation), national origin/ethnicity, disability (intellectual, mental and physical), veteran status, marital status, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, genetic information, citizenship or any other personal characteristics protected by law.
