Data Science Intern at Circular Action Alliance – Remote

Vision
The leading Producer Responsibility Organization implementing the circular economy through paper and packaging.

Mission
Circular Action Alliance (CAA) helps producers comply with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, delivers harmonized best-in-class services, and works with governments, businesses, and communities to reduce waste and increase recycling.

Role Overview

The Data Science Intern will support the Strategic Modeling Team which leads the development of advanced analytics as part of the Data & Analytics team. There are two main projects that this intern will support.

• Leverage AI & LLMs to automate the gathering of producer-specific product and packaging data. The data will be used to support our validation of producer supply reports, increasing the accuracy of reporteddata and reducing the manual effort to research producer packaging formats.
• Support research into the cost for producers to reduce oreliminatetheir plastic packaging to inform our incentive mechanism to achieveouttarget of a 25% reduction in plastic packaging in California

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys quantitative analysis, structured problem‑solving, data automation, and supporting companies to transition to a circular economy.

Key Responsibilities

Producer Packaging Data Automation

• Build and update scripts that will automate data gathering from generative AI tools about the specific products sold and packagingutilizedby each of our member producers.
• Process and classify data to ensure output matches standard categories
• Leverage clustering algorithms toidentifyproducers with similar reporting trends
• Compare actual producer reports to predictions andidentifypotential incorrect reports
• Integrate the output into tools and visualizations for other team members toutilizefor follow-up with producers

Packaging Cost Curve Research and Modeling

• Leverage internal and external experts toidentifyspecific opportunities for producers to reduce oreliminateplastic packaging including:

• Lightweighting
• Elimination of plastic components
• Shifting to a non-plastic package format

• Research and model costs for achieving the packaging reductions and calculate $/lbreduced, $/component eliminated
• Aggregate data, cluster by producer type and source reduction pathways
• Conduct analysis to assess fee impacts, materialspecific considerations, and producerlevel implications.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong analytical and quantitative skills; able to interpret complex datasets andidentifyactionable insights.
• Familiarity with data validation, governance, and data system integration best practices.
• Strong communicationand interpersonal skills, capable of engaging with diverse teams and stakeholders.
• Detail‑oriented with a commitment to accuracy, completeness, and compliance.
• Strong time‑management skills and ability to work with remote teams across multiple time zones.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a dynamic, mission‑driven environment.

Qualifications

• Currently in a program to achieve aBachelor’s degree inData Science,Business Analytics, Engineering,SoftwareDevelopmentor related field.
• Experience withdata analysis,data cleansing, and data processing
• Experience with Excel and data visualization tools such as Power BI
• Experience with Python scripting, integrating with APIs, processing results from LLMs, and interacting with databases
• Interest in sustainability, recycling, or EPR systems is a plus.

Compensation & Other Information

• Location:Fully Remote
• Pay Rate: $25.00 per hour. Since this is a temporary position, it is not eligible for benefits
• Interns must have their own laptop and access to high-speed internet.
• Reports To:Tim Elliot,Director of Strategic Modeling

Circular Action Alliance is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants for employment will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions), national origin, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. If you require accommodation as part of the application process, please contact careers@circularaction.org.