Summer 2026 PhD IT Data Science Intern (Business / Operations / Strategy)

Company Description

Sandisk understands how people and businesses consume data and we relentlessly innovate to deliver solutions that enable today’s needs and tomorrow’s next big ideas. With a rich history of groundbreaking innovations in Flash and advanced memory technologies, our solutions have become the beating heart of the digital world we’re living in and that we have the power to shape.

Sandisk meets people and businesses at the intersection of their aspirations and the moment, enabling them to keep moving and pushing possibility forward. We do this through the balance of our powerhouse manufacturing capabilities and our industry-leading portfolio of products that are recognized globally for innovation, performance and quality.

Sandisk has two facilities recognized by the World Economic Forum as part of the Global Lighthouse Network for advanced 4IR innovations. These facilities were also recognized as Sustainability Lighthouses for breakthroughs in efficient operations. With our global reach, we ensure the global supply chain has access to the Flash memory it needs to keep our world moving forward.

Job Description

Our Data & AI organization empowers business digital transformation by providing infrastructure, platform and data science support. We partner with SG&A (Selling, General & Administrative) functions—including Finance, HR, Procurement, Legal, and other business support areas—to deliver advanced analytics, automation, and AI-powered solutions. We offer internship opportunities for PhD students to work on impactful analytics projects that enable smarter decision-making and drive operational excellence. 

 Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Partner with stakeholders across Finance, Sales Operations, Marketing, HR, and General Operations to understand business questions and decision needs within SG&A functions

• Analyze large, complex datasets to identify patterns, drivers, and risks impacting cost, revenue, efficiency, and resource allocation
• Develop and evaluate predictive models (e.g., forecasting, classification, regression) to support planning, prioritization, and operational decisions
• Build scenario, what‑if, and sensitivity analyses to help business teams understand trade‑offs under uncertainty
• Apply optimization or decision modeling techniques to recommend actions such as budget allocation, capacity planning, or spend optimization
• Translate ambiguous business problems into structured analytical frameworks, clearly documenting assumptions and limitations
• Communicate insights and recommendations through clear visualizations, summaries, and presentations tailored to non‑technical audiences
• Validate model outputs using appropriate metrics and ensure results are interpretable, explainable, and decision‑ready
• Collaborate with data engineering, analytics, and business partners to ensure data quality, consistency, and proper usage
• Support the deployment or handoff of analytical solutions, including documentation and stakeholder walkthroughs
• Continuously iterate on models and analyses based on feedback, new data, and evolving business requirements

Qualifications

Required:

• Currently pursuing a PhD (graduating 2027) in Computer Science, Industrial Engineering, Data Analytics, Applied Mathematics, Economics or related field. 

• Strong background in one or more of the following: 

• Machine learning / deep learning / AI model development 

• Operations research, simulation, or optimization algorithms 

• Computer vision or image analytics 

• Predictive modeling or anomaly detection 

• Big data analytics and distributed computing (Spark, Hadoop, or cloud platforms) 

• Proficiency with programming and analytics tools such as Python, Pytorch. 

• Demonstrated ability to translate research concepts into practical, scalable solutions. 

• Collaborative mindset, curiosity, and eagerness to learn from multidisciplinary teams. 

Preferred:

• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills. 

Additional Information

Sandisk is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on their race, color, ancestry, religion (including religious dress and grooming standards), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), gender (including a person’s gender identity, gender expression, and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth), age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status (including domestic partnership status), physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, protected medical and family care leave, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. We also prohibit harassment of any individual on any of the characteristics listed above. Our non-discrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment. We comply with the laws and regulations set forth in the "Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster. Our pay transparency policy is available here.

Sandisk thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We believe the fusion of various perspectives results in the best outcomes for our employees, our company, our customers, and the world around us. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect and contribution.

Sandisk is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and our hiring process. Please contact us at jobs.accommodations@sandisk.com to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.

Based on our experience, we anticipate that the application deadline will be 04/23/2026 (3 months from posting), although we reserve the right to close the application process sooner if we hire an applicant for this position before the application deadline. If we are not able to hire someone from this role before the application deadline, we will update this posting with a new anticipated application deadline.

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Compensation & Benefits Details

• An employee’s pay position within the salary range may be based on several factors including but not limited to (1) relevant education; qualifications; certifications; and experience; (2) skills, ability, knowledge of the job; (3) performance, contribution and results; (4) geographic location; (5) shift; (6) internal and external equity; and (7) business and organizational needs.
• The salary range is what we believe to be the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting.  We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and this range is only applicable for jobs to be performed in California, Colorado, New York or remote jobs that can be performed in California, Colorado and New York.  This range may be modified in the future.
• If your position is non-exempt, you are eligible for overtime pay pursuant to company policy and applicable laws.  You may also be eligible for shift differential pay, depending on the shift to which you are assigned.
• You will be eligible to participate in Sandisk's Short-Term Incentive (STI) Plan, which provides incentive awards based on Company and individual performance.  Depending on your role and your performance, you may be eligible to participate in our annual Long-Term Incentive (LTI) program, which consists of restricted stock units (RSUs) or cash equivalents, pursuant to the terms of the LTI plan. Please note that not all roles are eligible to participate in the LTI program, and not all roles are eligible for equity under the LTI plan. RSU awards are also available to eligible new hires, subject to Sandisk’s Standard Terms and Conditions for Restricted Stock Unit Awards.
• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid vacation time; paid sick leave; medical/dental/vision insurance; life, accident and disability insurance; tax-advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts; employee assistance program; other voluntary benefit programs such as supplemental life and AD&D, legal plan, pet insurance, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity; tuition reimbursement; transit; the Applause Program; employee stock purchase plan; and the Sandisk Savings 401(k) Plan.
• Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.