Vertex Summer Intern 2026, Statistical Programming, AI

Job Description

Kickstart Your Career at Vertex!
Are you ready to make a real impact? At Vertex, our mission is to tackle serious diseases and to change lives, for the better, for the future. Our aim is to give you the skills, insights, and career guidance to be an important part of that future; to turn your potential into progression. As a Vertex intern or co-op, you'll work on meaningful projects, collaborate with talented teams, and learn from industry leaders. We're passionate about innovation, inclusion, and supporting your growth-inside and outside the lab.

Why Vertex?

• Real Projects: You'll work on assignments that make a real impact, not just busy work.
• Mentorship & Networking: Connect with leaders and peers who want to see you succeed through professional networks, connections, and collaborations that will shape your longer-term career.
• Flexible & Supportive: We offer flexible work options with Flex @ Vertex and prioritize your wellbeing.
• Inclusive Culture: Collaboration and inclusion are embedded in everything we do.
• Career Launchpad: Build skills, explore career paths, and get guidance for your future career.
  

Ready to apply? Submit your application and let's turn possibilities into reality!

Your Impact

The Vertex Statistical Programming internship program is a multi-week experiential training program for students currently working towards an advanced degree in Statistics, Biostatistics, Data Science, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Biomedical Engineering, or a related field. If you are passionate, collaborative, and growth-minded, an internship at Vertex will help you gain meaningful experience in our Statistical Programming functional areas and serve as a launchpad for your career.

Important Notice Regarding Internship and Co-op Inquiries
At Vertex Pharmaceuticals, we are committed to providing a fair and structured recruitment process for all students interested in internship and co-op opportunities. To ensure consistency and equity, all student applications must go through our Early Talent Acquisition Team.

Due to the high volume of interest, we are unable to respond to individual solicitation. Direct solicitation to Vertex employees- including senior leaders via email will result in removal from the recruiting process.

We appreciate your enthusiasm and interest in Vertex. To be considered for internship or co-op roles, please apply directly through our official application channels. (https://www.vrtx.com/careers/career-growth-and-opportunities/internships/)

Thank you for respecting our process and helping us maintain a fair experience for all candidates.

What you will be doing:

We are seeking an intern to contribute to the development of an LLM-based agent designed to enhance the automation of clinical Table, Figure, and Listing (TFL) generation workflows. The primary responsibilities of the intern will include:

• Parsing Clinical TFL Shell Documents: Extracting structured specifications such as titles, population definitions, variables, footnotes, and programming notes from RTF/DOCX files. Extracting Structured Specifications: Transforming unstructured text into structured formats for downstream processing.
• Interpreting User Prompts: Understanding and processing user inputs to guide the automation workflow.
• Mapping Specifications to R Function/SAS Macros Libraries: Matching extracted specifications to appropriate R functions/SAS Macros within an existing library.
• Triggering TFL Generation Workflows: Automating the execution of TFL generation workflows

The system will leverage a combination of prompt-driven reasoning, structured document parsing, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and tool/function calling to seamlessly integrate LLM outputs with deterministic R code/SAS code execution.

The intern will be responsible for delivering the following Technical Deliverables:

• Shell-to-Function Matching Agent:
• Clinical TFL shell text and user prompts.
• Structured function calls to the R library.
• Schema-Constrained LLM Output:

Generate JSON mappings for table types, population definitions, variables, and grouping.

• Validation Layer:

Develop mechanisms to ensure LLM outputs align with predefined function signatures and constraints.

• Prompt Optimization:

Enhance prompt engineering to improve reliability and minimize hallucinations in LLM outputs.

• System Integration:

Seamlessly integrate the LLM agent with the existing automation system to enable TFL generation workflows.

This role offers a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of statistical programming, machine learning, and clinical analytics. The successful candidate will gain hands-on experience in developing cutting-edge AI-driven automation tools that have a direct impact on the efficiency and accuracy of clinical reporting processes.

This role is not focused on:

• Researching or training new LLM models.
• Fine-tuning large foundation models.

Instead, this role emphasizes:

• Building applied AI systems.
• Developing production-oriented tools.
• Designing hybrid workflows that combine deterministic and probabilistic methods.
• Supporting statistical programmers in automating TFL generation.

What you will need to succeed:

Required Technical Skills

1. Programming

• Proficiency in Python (primary language for LLM development).
• Working knowledge of R/SAS for statistical programming (plus).
• Experience in integrating Python and R using tools such as:

reticulate, Subprocess calls, API-based communication

• Familiarity with Git and version control systems.
• Proven ability to write modular, testable, and production-ready code (beyond Jupyter notebooks).

2. LLM Engineering (Core Requirement)

Candidates must have hands-on experience with at least one of the following frameworks or tools:

• OpenAI API (including function calling and tool calling)
• Azure OpenAI
• LangChain
• LlamaIndex
• Semantic Kernel
• Autogen
• CrewAI
• Haystack

Required LLM Engineering Concepts:

• Prompt engineering (e.g., few-shot prompting, system vs. user prompts).
• Structured output generation (e.g., JSON schema enforcement).
• Tool calling and function calling.
• Multi-step reasoning chains and agent workflows.
• Context window management for LLMs.
• Output validation to ensure accuracy and reliability.

3. Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

Experience in building RAG systems, including:

• Document chunking strategies for efficient processing.
• Embedding generation for semantic search.
• Vector similarity search and top-k retrieval.

Familiarity with at least one of the following vector databases:

• FAISS
• Pinecone
• Milvus
• Chroma
• Weaviate

Candidates should have a strong understanding of indexing technical documents and retrieving relevant context based on user queries.

4. Structured Parsing of Technical Documents

Experience in parsing and extracting structured data from technical documents, including:

• RTF and DOCX formats.
• Structured reports and TFL shell documents.
• Proficiency with Python libraries such as:
• python-docx
• striprtf
• docx2txt
• Regular expressions for rule-based parsing.

Candidates should be familiar with the differences between rule-based extraction and LLM-assisted extraction.

5. API and Tool Integration

Experience in integrating APIs and tools, including:

• REST APIs and JSON schema validation.
• Frameworks such as FastAPI or Flask (preferred).
• Logging, error handling, and debugging.
• Configuration-driven workflows for scalable systems.

Candidates must understand how to design workflows where LLM outputs trigger deterministic backend functions.

• Enrolled in or have completed a Master's or Doctoral degree in Statistics, Biostatistics, Data Science, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Biomedical Engineering, or another related field
• Coursework completed in Machine Learning, Statistical Computing, Linear Algebra, Probability, Data Structures and Algorithms
• Have experience building at least one end-to-end LLM application
• Posses a strong understanding of statistical reporting workflows
• Be comfortable debugging ambiguous LLM behavior and improving model reliability
• Show a keen interest in applying AI to clinical analystics and statistical programming
• Legal authorization to work in the United States, now and in the future. Please note that Vertex does not provide sponsorship for internships or entry level roles within this part of the organization.
• You must be enrolled in an advanced degree program if graduating before August 2026
• You must be available to work full-time, 40 hours per week from May - August 2026

Program Details:

• Full-time, paid co-op $30.00 - 50.00 USD/hour
• Program Dates: May - August 2026

At Vertex, we believe that when you feel your best, you can perform at your best. That's why our US benefits and global well-being resources are designed to support you.

* Free 24/7 onsite gym access and free access to group exercise classes

* Subsidized commuter benefits- transit and parking

* Provided meals-free breakfast daily!

* Career development opportunities and events, including C Suite engagement

* Social events-both intern-only and company-wide

* Location-specific perks and extras!

* Recognition of National Intern Day

Equal Opportunities
Vertex is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person's race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, or any characteristic protected under applicable law. Vertex is an E-Verify Employer in the United States. Vertex will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.

Vertex is an E-Verify Employer in the United States. We consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

Accessibility & Accommodations
We're focused on attracting, retaining, developing, and advancing our employees. By cultivating a workplace that values diverse experiences, backgrounds, and ideas, we create an environment where every employee can contribute their best. Vertex is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants with disabilities. Any applicant requiring an accommodation in connection with the hiring process and/or to perform the essential functions of the position for which the applicant has applied should make a request to the recruiter or hiring manager, or contact Talent Acquisition at ApplicationAssistance@vrtx.com

Export Control Notice
This position may involve access to technology or data that is subject to U.S. export control laws, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). As such, employment is contingent upon the applicant's ability to access export-controlled information in accordance with U.S. law. Due to the nature of the work and regulatory requirements, only individuals who qualify as U.S. persons (citizens, permanent residents, asylees, or refugees) are eligible for this position. For this role, Vertex is unable to sponsor non-U.S. persons to apply for an export control license.

This job posting is for a temporary role with a third-party agency partner that provides services to Vertex. The individual selected for this role will be offered the role as an employee of that third-party agency; compensation, medical benefits, fringe benefits and other terms and conditions of employment shall be presented by the third-party agency upon offer.

Pay Range:

Disclosure Statement:

Flex Designation:

Flex Eligibility Status:

In this Hybrid-Eligible role, you can choose to be designated as:
1. Hybrid: work remotely up to two days per week; or select
2. On-Site: work five days per week on-site with ad hoc flexibility.

Note: The Flex status for this position is subject to Vertex's Policy on Flex @ Vertex Program and may be changed at any time.

#LI-Hybrid

Company Information

Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation.

Vertex is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person's race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, or any characteristic protected under applicable law. Vertex is an E-Verify Employer in the United States. Vertex will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.

Any applicant requiring an accommodation in connection with the hiring process and/or to perform the essential functions of the position for which the applicant has applied should make a request to the recruiter or hiring manager, or contact Talent Acquisition at ApplicationAssistance@vrtx.com