Innovation Research Intern

Location: Remote Department: Internships

Who is Trace3?

Trace3 is a leading Transformative IT Authority, providing unique technology solutions and consulting services to our clients. Equipped with elite engineering and dynamic innovation, we empower IT executives and their organizations to achieve competitive advantage through a process of Integrate, Automate, Innovate.

Our culture at Trace3 embodies the spirit of a startup with the advantage of a scalable business. Employees can grow their career and have fun while doing it!

Trace3 is headquartered in Irvine, California. We employ more than 1,200 people all over the United States. Our major field office locations include Denver, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, Lexington, Los Angeles, Louisville, Texas, San Francisco.

Ready to discover the possibilities that live in technology?

Come Join Us!

Street-Smart - Thriving in Dynamic Times

We are flexible and resilient in a fast-changing environment. We continuously innovate and drive constructive change while keeping a focus on the “big picture.” We exercise sound business judgment in making high-quality decisions in a timely and cost-effective manner. We are highly creative and can dig deep within ourselves to find positive solutions to different problems.

Juice - The “Stuff” it takes to be a Needle Mover

We get things done and drive results. We lead without a title, empowering others through a can-do attitude. We look forward to the goal, mentally mapping out every checkpoint on the pathway to success, and visualizing what the final destination looks and feels like.

Teamwork - Humble, Hungry and Smart

We are humble individuals who understand how our job impacts the company's mission. We treat others with respect, admit mistakes, give credit where it’s due and demonstrate transparency. We “bring the weather” by exhibiting positive leadership and solution-focused thinking. We hug people in their trials, struggles, and failures – not just their success. We appreciate the individuality of the people around us.

JOB SUMMARY

Trace3 is an innovation partner to more than 2,000 companies and has been growing at a double-digit rate for over a decade.  Trace3 Innovation collaborates with the industry, VC and start-up community, clients, and internal Trace3 teams to identify, analyze, and offer insights into emerging technology areas such as private/public cloud, data intelligence, security, application/development, and operations.  The Trace3 Innovation Team identifies macro technology trends, technology practice areas, use cases, and solutions across the market landscape.  Solution partners, from new start-ups to industry incumbents, are evaluated.

Under the general direction of the SVP of Innovation, and with day-to-day guidance from an Innovation Researcher, the Innovation Research Intern is responsible for scouting and vetting emerging startups and use cases, and for supporting lower-complexity client research requests, with the goal of understanding how they fit within the Enterprise IT landscape. The intern serves as a research extension of the team, allowing researchers and principals to concentrate on analysis and advisory work.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO LEARN

Scout emerging vendors across Security, Data, AI, Developer Operations, and others using funding databases, analyst coverage, venture portfolios, and news sources

Conduct secondary research to analyze investments in startups to determine possible trends

Apply deductive and inductive reasoning to test the accuracy of data, and clearly separate verified facts from vendor marketing claims

Interpret data to bring out meaningful insights by correlating different data points, citing sources for every material statement

Maintain a pipeline of candidate companies with consistent fields, including category, product summary, funding stage, investors, and leadership

Support the quality check process by verifying figures, names, and citations, and by keeping vendor tracking and research repositories current

Observe technical reviews with the Research team and targeted companies, and prepare notes with takeaways and follow-up questions

Assist researchers with client research requests, such as compiling vendor longlists, locating alternatives to an incumbent product, and building competitive comparisons

Support the preparation for client workshops and internal thought leadership by assembling background research

Complete a capstone research project near the end of the internship and present it to the team

All client-facing content is reviewed and approved by a Researcher or Innovation Principal; the intern does not contact vendors or clients without approval

May perform other duties as assigned by supervisor

ELIGIBILITY AND PREFERRED SKILLS

Enrollment in the Junior or Senior year of an undergraduate program at an accredited college or university or Masters program

Candidates should be pursuing a field of study applicable to the Innovation Research internship, such as information technology, computer science, cybersecurity, business, or a related field

Excellent secondary research skills, including source evaluation and careful attribution

Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills

Excellent technical documentation and artifact creation skills

Proficiency with spreadsheets, presentation tools, and collaborative documents

Cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better; People and Organizational Health may require a copy of the applicant’s transcript

Academic or professional/internship experience working in a professional setting is a plus

Familiarity with enterprise technology domains such as cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, or applied AI is a plus

Comfort using AI research tools responsibly, with a habit of verifying output against primary sources, is a plus

Ability to work independently on assigned tasks and accepts direction on given assignments

Self-motivated individuals with a custo