Intern

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Southwest Airlines promises to provide Employees with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. We entrust our Interns working in Technology to make an impact on their Team in real-time projects, work collaboratively with other Technology Interns and workgroups, make progress to achieve Company initiatives, and deliver on our Company Purpose of connecting People to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel, all while having fun and developing yourself as a future professional.

Additional details

• Join Southwest as a Summer 2026 Intern, with a 12-week internship lasting from May 19th through August 7th, 2026.
• Work fully remotely, with opportunities to connect with your Team and other workgroups virtually and potential to travel to visit our Corporate Campus in Dallas, Texas.
  • There is limited group of states or localities ineligible for Employees to regularly perform their workoff-site. Those ineligible locations are Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.
  • If you currently reside in an ineligible state, you may relocate to an eligible state and be considered for an internship
• Dedicate 40 hours each week to your internship responsibilities and tasks.
• Receive an hourly pay of $25-29, and stipends may be offered based on eligibility and the program criteria
• Receive free, unlimited travel privileges for yourself (taxes and fees may apply on international travel).
• Interns will receive any required equipment, such as a laptop, for the internship.

Southwest Airlines is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We continue to look for opportunities to reflect the communities we serve, and welcome applicants with diverse thoughts, backgrounds, and experiences.

Cybersecurity Engineer Intern

Demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals is skyrocketing and demand is expected to grow significantly in the foreseeable future. As a cybersecurity professional, the intern will be working daily to keep Southwest Airlines secure and will constantly be facing new and engaging challenges. Incident Response analysts defend Southwest's network against cyber threats and use investigative methods to identify root causes, while Threat Intelligence analysts collect and process data on threat actors to understand their motives, targets, and attack behaviors to better understand ongoing attacks or predict future threats. The Intern will work full‑time as a Cybersecurity Engineer Intern within the Technology Department. The Intern may be asked to support a variety of projects within one or more of the following Teams. The duties and responsibilities of the Cybersecurity Engineer Intern may include, but are not limited to:

• Under supervision, may be responsible for vendor management, partner governance, and system oversight to deploy, monitor, and maintain secure solutions throughout their lifecycle.
• Work with a Team to research issues, plan and recommend solutions, and support the coordination of system and software developments. This includes monitoring performance, identifying bottlenecks, and collaborating with partners to implement fixes.
• Help ensure high system and infrastructure availability levels by addressing and resolving low‑to‑medium complexity escalations.
• Support the implementation and ongoing updates of platform strategies and roadmaps to strengthen security posture.
• Stay informed of emerging technology trends and best practices relevant to cybersecurity and system operations.
• Contribute to team projects by meeting deadlines, fulfilling commitments, and delivering quality results

Software Engineer Intern

The Intern will work as a Software Engineer within the Technology Department. The Intern will have the opportunity to work with Teams that include Tech Platforms and Architecture, People and Finance, Tech Ops, Ground Ops, and EID.

• Build, produce and develop solutions for stakeholders throughout the airline
• Help deploy developed and tested code
• Support Development and Production Environments
• Continuous learning of new technologies and techniques

Software Engineer (UI‑UX) Summer 2026 Intern

This Intern works within the Technology Department and supports the Crew Technology Team, which designs products for an effortless and engaging user experience. They'll collaborate closely with Product Teams, Engineering Teams, and our User Research Team to turn insights into impacts. The Software Engineer Intern is an excellent communicator and storyteller who is ready to help contribute to the future of Southwest's Technology. The duties and responsibilities of the Software Engineer Intern may include but are not limited to:

• Analyze, design, write program code, test, document, and implement functionally appropriate, technically sound, and well‑integrated application systems in accordance with Customer requirements, and organizational methodologies and standards.
• Respond to production problems and implement immediate resolution efforts across technology areas.
• Maintain awareness of technology trends in the area of responsibility.
• Meet commitments and deliverables related to participating in projects.
• Ability to assist in user research activities, including interviews, surveys, and user testing
• Collaborate with UX and product teams to brainstorm solutions and generate design ideas.
• Create wireframes, user flows, and prototypes under the guidance of senior designers.

Data Science Engineer

This Intern works within the Technology Department and supports the Ops Lean Portfolio Management Team (spanning all Ops portfolio teams – AirOps, Tech Ops, Ground Ops, Safety). The Software Engineer Intern is a skilled communicator and problem-solver ready to drive the future of Southwest's Technology. The duties and responsibilities of the Software Engineer Intern may include but are not limited to:

• Monitor and maintain the components of our data engineering pipeline, and various container‑based services configured through UIs, SQL, PL/SQL, Python, Tableau & Alteryx
• Work as a part of our production support team to ensure the highest standards of product configuration that meet client requirements
• Test and troubleshoot the data pipeline using sample and live client data, utilizing Jenkins, Python, and Java to automate these tests. Must be able to parse logs to determine next actions
• Utilize dashboards for Kubernetes/OpenShift to diagnose high‑level issues and ensure services are healthy
• Support Implementation immediately after go‑live and work with the implementation team to transition support
• Work with data providers to clarify requirements and remove roadblocks
• Drive automation into everyday activities
• May perform other job duties as assigned

Data Scientist

The Intern will work full‑time as a Data Scientist Intern within the Technology Department. The Intern will have the opportunity to join the AI Delivery Customer & Commercial Team. The duties and responsibilities of the Data Scientist Intern may include but are not limited to:

• Assists on data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, generative AI, or optimization projects by helping analyze contextual problems and contributing to solutions that support business objectives
• Learns and applies math, statistics, and/or modeling methods under guidance to support descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, or prescriptive analytics
• Helps monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of models in use by stakeholders
• Supports the formulation of solutions and assists in communicating results from data analysis and models, with direction from more experienced Data Scientists
• Actively participates in the Southwest Airlines data science community by learning from and collaborating with team members
• Must be able to meet any physical ability requirements listed in this description
• May perform other job duties as assigned

Network Engineer

ThisIntern will work within the Technology Department supporting the Technology – Infrastructure Operations Network Team, which protects Southwest from external threats and through automations and other operational efforts. The Network Engineer Intern is an analytical problem‑solver and excellent communicator who is excited to contribute to the future of Southwest's Technology. The duties and responsibilities of the Network Engineer Intern may include, but are not limited to:

• Diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve hardware, software, and network/system issues, including replacing defective components as needed.
• Assist with technical guidance and support for system development and troubleshooting.
• Work with network users to identify and solve existing system problems.
• Maintain logs related to network functions, as well as repair and maintenance records.
• Support the administration of computer and data networks, including hardware, systems software, application software, and configurations.
• Perform routine network startup and shutdown procedures, and maintain control records.
• Gather data on customer needs to help identify, predict, and evaluate system and network requirements.
• Assist with implementation and technical support for voice services and equipment (e.g., PBX, voicemail, telecom systems).
• Monitor network performance to identify and recommend future adjustments or improvements.
• Perform other duties as assigned

Cloud DevOps Engineer

The Intern will work full‑time as a Cloud DevOps Engineer Intern within the Technology Department. The Intern will have the opportunity to work with Teams that include: Cloud Infrastructure Development Team, Enterprise Cloud Core Team or Crew Platform Team.

• Creating and maintaining enterprise‑level cloud‑based infrastructure, automation pipelines, platforms, and processes.
• Work in an environment that involves cloud infrastructure automation, software development, and gaining expertise in many diverse technologies in the domain of cloud computing, continuous integration and deployment, storage, databases, messaging, and security.

Basic Qualifications

High School Diploma, GED or equivalent education required

Must be at least 18 years of age.

Must have authorization to work in the United States as defined by the Immigration Reform Act of 1986.

You must have a valid U.S. Social Security Number to complete the full hiring process.

This position requires authorization to work in the United States as a permanent employee without sponsorship now or in the future.

Education

Progress toward undergraduate or graduate degree in MIS, Business, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems or Information Technology, Operations Research, Industrial Engineering or similar degree.

1-2 semesters remaining at the time the internship ends is preferred. May not have an undergraduate graduation date of December 2026 or prior, unless already enrolled in a full‑time graduate degree program at time of application.

To be eligible you must be currently enrolled as a full‑time student as defined by your university at the time of application.

Minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA at the time of application.

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge/Work Style

These depend on the specific type of technology internship you complete. Please see the job description on our career site for more detailed information.

• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) required.
• Basic knowledge of business analysis, process modeling and redesign is preferred.
• Basic knowledge of technical environment required.
• Exposure to Agile methodologies preferred.
• Fundamental understanding of project management techniques.
• Problem solving ability and strong written/verbal communications skills required.
• Ability to stay organized and manage multiple and concurrent assignments under tight deadlines.
• Previous internship experience within the past 12 months preferred.
• Experience solving business problems in a capstone or case competition preferred.
• Works well in a culture that is open, direct, respectful, courteous and compassionate.

Time Commitment and Pay

Required: Full‑time 40hrs a week

Must maintain a consistent weekly schedule during normal business hours at a max of 8 hours per day

Program Dates: May 19 – August 7, 2026

$25-$29 per hour, corresponding with progress toward degree (students with more completed semesters may qualify for higher rates within the range)

Stipends may be offered based on eligibility and program criteria

We are committed to helping individuals with disabilities participate in the workforce and ensuring equal opportunity to apply and compete for jobs. If you need accommodation at any point in the hiring process due to a disability, you may email the Accommodations Team or call View phone number on click.appcast.io.