Software Engineer Intern (Summer 2026)

About Us

At Cloudflare, we are on a mission to help build a better Internet. Today the company runs one of the world’s largest networks that powers millions of websites and other Internet properties for customers ranging from individual bloggers to SMBs to Fortune 500 companies. Cloudflare protects and accelerates any Internet application online without adding hardware, installing software, or changing a line of code. Internet properties powered by Cloudflare all have web traffic routed through its intelligent global network, which gets smarter with every request. As a result, they see significant improvement in performance and a decrease in spam and other attacks. Cloudflare was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures list and ranked among the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company. 

At Cloudflare, we’re not looking for people who wait for a polished roadmap; we’re looking for the builders who see the cracks in the Internet that everyone else has simply learned to live with. We value candidates who have the instinct to spot a "normalized" problem and the AI-native curiosity to create a solution using the latest tools. Our culture is built on iteration, leveraging AI to ship faster today to make it better tomorrow, while ensuring that every improvement, no matter how small, is shared across the team to lift everyone up. If you’re the type of person who values curiosity over bureaucracy, and that AI is a partner in solving tough problems to keep the Internet moving forward, you’ll fit right in.

Available Location: Austin

People Innovation Lab — Cloudflare People Team

• Open Seats: 2 (One may be UI-focused; the other, back-end/API focused.)
• Reports to: Lead, Transformation & Strategic Initiatives (People & Places)

About the Role

Join the People Innovation Lab to rapidly build and deploy internal enterprise applications and tooling for the Cloudflare People & Places organization, focused on making work smarter.

• You will build production features in a sprint-based team.
• Work is guided by the IT Customer Zero team and deployed on Cloudflare infrastructure.
• Strong fundamentals and fast ramp-up ability are essential.

What You'll Build & Do

• Build and ship full-stack features, clean production code, and integrations for internal tools.
• Write and review code, work in sprints (managing tickets/blockers), and coordinate with the other intern.
• Effectively use AI-assisted coding tools.
• Demo working products to leadership.

Requirements & Qualifications

Minimum Requirements

• Pursuing CS, Software Engineering, or related degree (or equivalent experience).
• Ability to build and demonstrate a working web application.
• Proficient in JavaScript/TypeScript and comfortable with one back-end language/framework.
• Solid understanding of end-to-end web app functionality (HTTP, APIs, data persistence, deployment).
• Experience with shared codebases (Git, meaningful commits).

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with serverless/edge computing.
• Experience with a modern front-end framework (React, Vue, Svelte, etc.) and/or MCPs/APIs, data modeling, or systems design (for back-end seat).
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools (Cursor, Windsurf, OpenCode).
• Prior sprint-based team experience.
• For UI seat: experience with design systems, Figma, or strong interaction design sense.

What We Provide

• Opportunity to solve real problems with AI and code.
• Mentorship, dedicated manager, regular 1:1s, and structured support.
• Real sprint work with production deliverables.
• Access to Cloudflare's full intern cohort (community, events, network).
• A portfolio artifact: production-deployed code and a shipped product demo.

The Team's Vision

The team is building AI agents for the People organization that can reason, act, and coordinate without constant human input. You will contribute to this foundation and gain firsthand experience.

We value fundamentals, curiosity, and fast learning.

What Makes Cloudflare Special?

We’re not just a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company. We’re a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company with a soul. Fundamental to our mission to help build a better Internet is protecting the free and open Internet.

Project Galileo: Since 2014, we've equipped more than 2,400 journalism and civil society organizations in 111 countries with powerful tools to defend themselves against attacks that would otherwise censor their work, technology already used by Cloudflare’s enterprise customers--at no cost.

Athenian Project: In 2017, we created the Athenian Project to ensure that state and local governments have the highest level of protection and reliability for free, so that their constituents have access to election information and voter registration. Since the project, we've provided services to more than 425 local government election websites in 33 states.

1.1.1.1: We released 1.1.1.1 to help fix the foundation of the Internet by building a faster, more secure and privacy-centric public DNS resolver. This is available publicly for everyone to use - it is the first consumer-focused service Cloudflare has ever released. Here’s the deal - we don’t store client IP addresses never, ever. We will continue to abide by our privacy commitment and ensure that no user data is sold to advertisers or used to target consumers.

Sound like something you’d like to be a part of? We’d love to hear from you!

This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations. Please note that any offer of employment may be conditioned on your authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export laws without sponsorship for an export license.

Cloudflare is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people and place great value in both diversity and inclusiveness.  All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to their, or any other person's, perceived or actual race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, or any other basis protected by law. We are an AA/Veterans/Disabled Employer.

Cloudflare provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities.  Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job. Examples of reasonable accommodations include, but are not limited to, changing the application process, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.  If you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job, please contact us via e-mail at hr@cloudflare.com or via mail at 101 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94107.