Early Adopter & Product Builder Intern, Creative AI

Department: Strategy

Location: San Carlos, California, USA

Compensation: $40 – $50 per hour • Offers Commission

Employment Type: FullTime

🎨 About OpenArt

OpenArt is an AI Storytelling and Visual Creation Platform used by millions worldwide. We’re building the next generation of creative tools powered by cutting-edge AI, enabling anyone to create videos, visuals, characters, and stories with unprecedented speed and imagination. We believe the future of creativity is AI-native, and we’re shaping that future.

🚀 Why Join OpenArt

• Real impact through leadership exposure — work directly with C-level leaders and the key decision-making committee, with opportunities for your ideas and judgment to shape a product used by more than 10M users worldwide.

• A direct role in growth strategy — help leadership assess where to expand, which customers and partners to prioritize, and how to plan for scale.

• Exposure to the creative AI ecosystem — research the market and gather insights from creative professionals, agencies, model providers, operators and investors.

• Return offer opportunities — strong interns will be considered for full-time roles across product, engineering, research and GTM.

About the Role

Youll help shape how OpenArt feels to use. This role is for builders with a technical background and strong product taste: people who follow AI progress closely and know how to turn new capabilities into features creative professionals love.

Employment Type

Year-round internship with rolling start dates: full-time in summer, part-time (15–20 hrs/week) during the fall and spring semesters. Minimum 3-month commitment

What You’ll Do

• Track tech progress: follow new AI models, tools and tech trends at the cutting edge, often before public launch through early access, understand what each makes possible, and bring a regular take on what OpenArt should adopt or build.

• Turn ideas into features: translate new capabilities into feature ideas, prototype them, and work with designers and engineers to ship them.

• Test hands-on: run usability tests on new features and benchmark competing creative AI products, then form a clear judgment on whats great, whats broken and what to do next, and get the team aligned on it.

• Partner across teams: work with Growth and Community on creator programs, challenges and showcases that highlight great work made on OpenArt.

• Stay close to users: listening to users is part of doing this job well. Talk with them every day (interviews, Discord, social), understand what they need, and let that shape every feature you push for.

What We’re Looking For

Core Requirements

• Studying or trained in CS, engineering, HCI, design or a related technical field. We welcome undergraduate and graduate students at any stage, as well as candidates on a gap year or in other situations.

• Proactively using AI creative tools (OpenArt, Midjourney, Runway, Krea, Higgsfield, ComfyUI or similar) with strong opinions on what makes them great or frustrating.

• A builder with product taste: you have engineering skills (e.g., Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, working with APIs), youve built or shipped something (an app, side project, tool or design), and you can explain the choices behind it.

Nice to Have

• Close involvement in developer and creative professional communities, which gives you early exposure to new trends and high-value information.

• Good taste in what you read and strong learning habits, so you catch important trends early.

Work Setup

• Bay Area required (hybrid allowed)

• Visa sponsorship available

Compensation & Benefits

The expected base salary range for this role is $40 to $50 per hour, plus the same in-office benefits as our full-time employees.