United States onlyAt Caribou, we care about giving people financial freedom so they can focus on what’s most important to them. Today, less than two percent of Americans refinance their auto loans despite drastic increases in the cost of new and used cars. We see huge potential to help folks reduce their monthly auto expenses, as well as increase the predictability of those expenses over time. We do this by building technology to pair customers with community banks and credit unions, and ushering them through the process quickly. On average, our drivers save $130/month on their car loans while protecting their investment long term.
Caribou is led by leaders from the technology, automotive, and finance industries. We’re proud to be backed by a great team of investors, including QED Investors, Goldman Sachs, Moderne Ventures, Accomplice, Link Ventures, Motley Fool Ventures and others.
About the Role
Caribou is looking for a Data Science Intern to join our team for a high-impact summer project using Large Language Models (LLMs) to help screen and summarize customer service calls. You’ll work closely with our data scientists and operations stakeholders to design and evaluate prompt strategies that extract valuable insights from call center transcripts.
This internship is ideal for someone excited by the fast-moving world of LLMs and natural language processing, and eager to apply those tools to real business challenges. You’ll gain hands-on experience at the intersection of AI, customer experience, and operational automation.
In this role, you will…
- Design and test prompts using LLMs (e.g., OpenAI, Gemini, Claude) to evaluate call center conversations for:
- Common refinance objections and effective rebuttals
- Topics driving extended call durations
- Identify emerging customer concerns or questions that might indicate market shifts
- Analyze changes in customer language that might signal new opportunities
- Collaborate with the Data Science team to define success metrics and evaluate prompt performance.
- Contribute to tools and frameworks that make prompt iteration and testing faster and more reliable.
- Gain exposure to production NLP pipelines and best practices for human-in-the-loop feedback.
- Report directly to the Director of Analytics and Data Science
This role can be based out of our Caribou office in Denver, CO. Alternatively, this role may work remotely from a state where Caribou operates, with a preference for the Chicago, IL, Denver, CO, or San Francisco, CA markets.*
About You
You, like us, are driven to achieve your goals. At Caribou, we have just three core values: Give a damn. Velocity. Make the assist. We’re motivated. We race towards our goals. And we help each other along the way.
To be successful in this role, you should have…
- Currently pursuing a degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related field.
- Familiarity with LLMs and APIs like OpenAI, Claude, or similar. Gemini is a plus.
- Interest in natural language processing and prompt engineering.
- Python experience—bonus if you’ve worked with LangChain, spaCy, or Hugging Face tools.
- Clear communication skills and a curious, experimental mindset.
Bonus points for…
- Experience working with audio transcription or customer service data
- Knowledge of responsible AI practices and prompt evaluation
- Previous work in call center analytics or customer experience
- Graduate school experience
How we will take care of you
Everyone at Caribou is a valued team member. Our compensation and benefits package includes:
- Competitive compensation: $22.75/hr for undergraduate student, $36.25/hr for graduate student
- Generous paid time off including: Flexible Time Off (FTO) for all employees
- Robust wellness benefits including company-paid plans for health, dental, vision, and mental health.
- Optional benefits to suit your individual circumstances such as HSAs, FSAs, and pet insurance.
We come from all walks of life and are joined together by our shared values, which guide our work and how we work together.
- Give a damn. What we’re doing matters. We show up determined to deliver results, and we love it.
- Velocity. We’re intentional about where we’re going and we race towards it.
- Make the assist. We have diverse strengths. We offer and ask for help so we all win.
Caribou is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, pregnancy status, marital status, military or protected veteran status, genetics, or any other characteristic protected by law. This position is not restricted solely to the responsibilities listed above, and the scope and responsibilities are subject to change. A pre-employment background check is required as a condition of employment.
*Caribou does not currently have employee operations in AL, AK, AR, CT, DE, GA, HI, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, ME, MI, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, WV, WY.
