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 to develop the next generation of AI-native engineers. The program is designed for students earlier in their computer science journey (expected graduation date of December 2027 or later) who want hands-on experience, mentorship, and growth opportunities working in the tech industry. Unlike our traditional Software Engineering internship, First Play is tailored for those building foundational skills required to thrive in an AI-native engineering environment. Throughout the program, interns are paired with a dedicated mentor and manager who provide guidance, feedback, and support to help them learn and grow as engineers.

Candidates must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate degree program, with an expected graduation date of December 2027 or later. The First Play internship is a 12-week program designed to provide hands-on learning and mentorship. The 2026 session will run from May 26, 2026 – August 14, 2026.

Responsibilities:

• Hands-on Engineering: Contribute to meaningful, scoped projects that strengthen your coding, debugging, and problem-solving skills. You’ll apply classroom knowledge to real-world challenges - writing clean, efficient code, testing and iterating on features, and learning professional engineering practices such as version control, code reviews, and continuous integration
• Build Community: Participate in First Play cohort events, learning experiences, and LinkedIn’s broader intern programming designed to build community, increase skills, and showcase LinkedIn’s culture
• Experience Growth: Explore how AI and emerging technologies are shaping software development, and learn how engineering teams collaborate to create economic opportunity for the global workforce

Qualifications Basic Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a B.A/B.S degree in Computer Science or related technical field
• Foundational programming experience in at least one of the following: Python, Java, C/C++, C#, Rust, or a similar object-oriented programming language

Preferred Qualifications

• Exposure to software development through class projects, hackathons, or personal coding projects
• Experience experimenting with AI tools and frameworks to enhance software development and productivity
• Understanding of foundational data structures and basic algorithms
• Demonstrated AI curiosity and growth mindset, with a desire to deepen fluency with AI tools and emerging technologies
• Understanding of software engineering fundamentals such as code reviews, collaboration, and iterative development in a team environment

Suggested Skills:

• Programming Foundations
• Technical Problem-Solving
• AI Fluency

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 at accommodations@linkedin.com and describe the specific accommodation requested for a disability-related limitation.

Reasonable accommodations are modifications or adjustments to the application or hiring process that would enable you to fully participate in that process. Examples of reasonable accommodations include but are not limited to:

• Documents in alternate formats or read aloud to you
• Having interviews in an accessible location
• Being accompanied by a service dog
• Having a sign language interpreter present for the interview

A request for an accommodation will be responded to within three business days. However, non-disability related requests, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response.

LinkedIn will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by LinkedIn, or (c) consistent with LinkedIn's legal duty to furnish information.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, LinkedIn will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Pay Transparency Policy Statement As a federal contractor, LinkedIn follows the Pay Transparency and non-discrimination provisions described at this link: https://lnkd.in/paytransparency.

Global Data Privacy Notice for Job Candidates Please follow this link to access the document that provides transparency around the way in which LinkedIn handles personal data of employees and job applicants: https://legal.linkedin.com/candidate-portal.