Data Engineering Internship (Summer 2026)

About Lincoln Avenue Communities

Welcome to Lincoln Avenue Communities (LAC)—a leading, mission-driven real estate private equity firm dedicated to strengthening communities through the development and preservation of affordable housing.

As a vertically integrated developer, investor, and long-term operator, we deliver sustainable, high-quality homes to lower- and moderate-income individuals, seniors, and families across 32 states. Our growing portfolio—more than 180+ properties and 30,000+ homes—reflects our commitment to long-term impact, operational excellence, and resident well-being.

LAC is proud to be recognized as an industry leader, recently ranked No. 1 on Affordable Housing Finance’s 2025 AHF 50 list of top developers. Our approach combines strategic investment, thoughtful design, and community partnerships to deliver housing solutions that foster stability, opportunity, and resilience.

Our Internship Program

Our internship program goes beyond the ordinary. Here, you won’t just be a participant but an integral part of our innovative projects, learning and growing in an environment that fosters creativity and independence. If you share our vision of raising the standards in affordable housing, we invite you to embark on this journey with us. Let’s build a future where your ideas matter, your skills are honed, and your impact is real.

This is an excellent opportunity for an aspiring IT professional to gain hands-on corporate experience in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.

Important Reminders:

• Our 10-week program begins June 1, 2026, and ends August 7, 2026.
• We encourage students who are graduating in May/June 2027 to apply.
• This is a full-time role based in our Santa Monica office.

What You’ll Do

This internship offers hands-on experience supporting the IT Operations team, providing exposure to key IT strategy initiatives, technical skills, and an introduction to AI & analytics in a dynamic environment. This summer, you will:Data Pipeline & Database Engineering

• Build and maintain ETL/ELT data pipelines from multiple sources (Yardi, RealPage, Azure SQL, APIs) into our data warehouse
• Design, optimize, and query relational databases using SQL Server and Azure SQL Database
• Perform data quality checks, validation, and monitoring to ensure pipeline reliability
• Assist with database performance tuning and optimization efforts

Data Cleaning & Transformation

• Extract, clean, preprocess, and transform data from structured and semi-structured sources (databases, APIs, Excel, CSV)
• Develop reusable data cleaning scripts using Python or SQL to ensure data accuracy and consistency
• Document data lineage, transformation logic, and data quality rules

Application Development & Presentation Layer

• Build user-facing dashboards and reports in Power BI to deliver actionable insights to business stakeholders 
• Design intuitive data visualizations that translate complex datasets into clear, executive-ready presentations
• Collaborate with business users to gather requirements and iterate on reporting solutions
• Contribute to internal application development projects

Requirements

What We’re Looking For

Required Technical Skills

• SQL Proficiency: Strong ability to write complex queries, joins, aggregations, and subqueries (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, or Azure SQL)
• Data Cleaning & Transformation: Hands-on experience preprocessing, cleaning, and structuring data for analysis
• Database Fundamentals: Understanding of relational database design, normalization, indexing, and query optimization
• Python or R: Experience using Python (pandas, numpy) or R for data manipulation and scripting
• Data Visualization Tools: Familiarity with Power BI, Tableau, or similar BI platforms for building dashboards and reports
• Excel Advanced Skills: Proficiency with pivot tables, VLOOKUP, formulas, and data manipulation

Preferred Skills

• Experience with cloud data platforms (Azure Data Factory, Azure SQL, AWS, or GCP)
• Exposure to ETL/ELT processes and data pipeline orchestration
• Familiarity with version control (Git/GitHub) and collaborative development workflows
• Knowledge of APIs and data integration patterns
• Experience with Power Automate or workflow automation tools
• Understanding of data modeling concepts (dimensional modeling, star schemas)

Professional Attributes

• Proactive, curious, and eager to learn modern data engineering practices
• Strong analytical thinking with attention to detail in data validation and documentation
• Excellent communication skills, ability to translate technical concepts for business audiences
• Collaborative mindset and ability to work cross-functionally with IT, Finance, and Operations teams

Benefits

• This is a non-exempt, hourly position paying $25.00 per hour, with eligibility for overtime.
• Students residing outside of Los Angeles County are also eligible in receiving a $4,000 living stipend for the summer.