[Hiring] AI Agent Development Intern @Ciena

Role Description

We are looking for a highly motivated AI Agent Development Intern to join our Agentic AI Hub project at Ciena. This initiative focuses on developing intelligent AI agents powered by Large Language Models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and knowledge bases to drive automation, decision-making, and efficiency in real-world applications.

• Assist in designing, developing, and optimizing LLM-powered AI agents using frameworks like LangChain, LlamaIndex, and OpenAI API.
• Craft, refine, and test prompts for various AI-driven tasks, including question answering, summarization, and decision support.
• Implement retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines using vector databases (e.g., ChromaDB, Pinecone, Weaviate) to enhance AI agent knowledge.
• Work with structured (SQL, PostgreSQL, MySQL) and unstructured data (text, PDFs, JSON), applying preprocessing techniques.
• Develop and integrate REST APIs (FastAPI, Flask) for AI agent interaction and integrate LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Hugging Face) efficiently.
• Utilize Git/GitHub for version control, create modular and maintainable Python code, and explore Docker for deployment.
• Evaluate AI agent outputs, detect hallucinations, and implement improvements for accuracy, efficiency, and reliability.

Qualifications

• Currently working towards a Masters or PhD in an AI related field.
• Strong Python proficiency with experience in developing AI agents.
• Familiarity with LLM APIs, structured/unstructured data processing, and embedding models.
• Experience with vector databases (ChromaDB, Pinecone), SQL databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL), and NoSQL (MongoDB, Elasticsearch).
• Basic knowledge of REST API development (FastAPI, Flask) and integrating AI models with APIs.

Requirements

• Experience with LangChain, LlamaIndex, or Autogen for AI agent development.
• Knowledge of RAG techniques, knowledge graphs (Neo4j, RDF), or semantic search.
• Exposure to fine-tuning LLMs (LoRA, PEFT).
• Familiarity with Docker, AWS, or Azure is a plus.
• Experience with MLOps pipelines, logging, and monitoring AI applications.

Benefits

• The pay range for this position is $25.00 - $34.00.
• In addition to competitive compensation, Ciena offers students access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), company-paid holidays, paid sick leave, and vacation pay as required by applicable laws.

Company Description

Ciena is committed to a people-first approach, focusing on a flexible work environment that empowers individual growth, well-being, and belonging. We’re a technology company that leads with our humanity—driving our business priorities alongside meaningful social, community, and societal impact.