Software Engineer Intern (First Play) - Summer 2027 (Mountain View, CA)

Location: Mountain View, CA, us Department: Engineering Employment Type: {'id': 'permanent', 'label': 'Full-time'}

Company Description

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, built to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. Our products help people make powerful connections, discover exciting opportunities, build necessary skills, and gain valuable insights every day. We’re also committed to providing transformational opportunities for our own employees by investing in their growth. We aspire to create a culture that’s built on trust, care, inclusion, and fun – where everyone can succeed.

Join us to transform the way the world works.

Job Description

This internship role will be based in Mountain View, California.

At LinkedIn, our approach to flexible work is centered on trust and optimized for culture, connection, clarity, and the evolving needs of our business. The work location of this role is hybrid, meaning it will be performed both from home and from a LinkedIn office on select days, as determined by the business needs of the team.

First Play is LinkedIn’s software engineering internship designed for students earlier in their computer science journey to build strong engineering foundations through real-world experience. Interns contribute to meaningful, scoped engineering projects, tackle real technical challenges, and gain firsthand experience building software at LinkedIn.

As software development continues to evolve, First Play gives interns the opportunity to grow as engineers in an AI-native engineering environment. Interns will gain hands-on experience with modern engineering practices, use AI-powered development tools, and explore how AI and emerging technologies are shaping the way software is built. Through mentorship, collaboration, and ongoing feedback, interns will strengthen their technical skills, learn from engineers across LinkedIn, and build the foundation to take on increasingly complex engineering challenges.

Candidates must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate degree program, with an expected graduation date of December 2028 or later.

The First Play internship is a 12-week program with two available sessions:

May 24, 2027 – August 13, 2027

June 14, 2027 – September 3, 2027

Responsibilities

Contribute to meaningful, scoped software engineering projects and apply programming and problem-solving skills to real-world technical challenges.

Write, test, debug, and iterate on code while developing familiarity with engineering practices such as version control, code reviews, and continuous integration.

Use AI-powered development tools and emerging technologies as part of the software development process while continuing to build strong engineering fundamentals.

Work with engineers to solve technical problems, incorporate feedback, and strengthen software engineering skills.

Participate in First Play cohort experiences and LinkedIn’s broader intern programming to build connections, develop skills, and engage with the LinkedIn community.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

Pursuing a B.A. or B.S. degree in Computer Science or a related technical field.

Programming experience in Python, Java, C, C++, C#, Rust, or a similar object-oriented programming language.

Preferred Qualifications

Understanding of foundational data structures, algorithms, and object-oriented programming concepts.

Experience applying programming concepts through coursework, class projects, hackathons, personal coding projects, or other technical work.

Experience building, testing, debugging, or iterating on code through coursework, projects, hackathons, or other technical work.

Experience breaking down technical problems and developing solutions through coursework, projects, or other technical experiences.

Suggested Skills

Programming Foundations

Data Structures and Algorithms

Technical Problem-Solving

As part of the application process for this role, after an initial qualifications review, candidates are required to successfully complete the HackerRank online code challenge. Instructions for completion of the code challenge will be sent to you if your application is selected to move forward in the process.

LinkedIn is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices.

The pay range for this role is $45 to $55. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, certifications, and specific work location. This may be different in other locations due to differences in the cost of labor.

The total compensation package for this position may also include annual performance bonus, stock, benefits and/or other applicable incentive compensation plans. For more information, visit https://careers.linkedin.com/benefits.

Additional Information

Equal Opportunity Statement

We seek candidates with a wide range of perspectives and backgrounds and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. LinkedIn considers qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class.

LinkedIn is committed to offering an inclusive and accessible experience for all job seekers, including individuals with disabilities. Our goal is to foster an inclusive and accessible workplace where everyone has the opportunity to be successful.

If you need a Reasonable Accommodation to search for a job opening, apply for a position, or participate in the interview process, connect with us and describe the specific Accommodation requested for a disability-related limitation.

Fill out an Accommodation request here: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/b660a0327d044969abfd7a4e73d15c36

Reasonable accommodations are modifications or adjustments to the application o