Summer 2027 Corporate Intern: APD Automation Engineer
“IMMIGRATION SPONSORSHIP IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR THIS ROLE”
F-1 student? A proposed $70,000 OPT fee could change how employers think about sponsorship — read the explainer.
- Term
- Summer 2027
Position Summary...
What you'll do...
The Internship:
The Walmart Automated Pick and Delivery (APD) Internship is an 11-week program held during the summer of 2027. It is open to undergraduate students graduating between December 2027 and August 2028. This paid internship will prepare associates for a career with Walmart APD. Interns will work on meaningful projects, network with industry experts, and develop their skills while having an enriching summer experience.
About Automated Pickup & Delivery (APD):
Automated Pickup & Delivery (APD) centers are Walmart’s automated grocery fulfillment facilities that combine robotics, software systems, and in-store operations to fulfill online grocery orders at scale. These systems sit at the intersection of physical automation, software platforms, and store operations, and are a critical part of Walmart’s long-term eCommerce and grocery strategy. APDs are designed to:
- Increase daily order throughput per store
- Improve labor productivity (Units Per Labor Hour – UPLH)
- Deliver reliable, fast pickup experiences for customers
Role Summary:
The APD Engineering Intern (Undergraduate) will work on real-world automation and fulfillment problems that directly impact throughput, labor efficiency, system availability, and customer experience. Interns will join one of several APD engineering-focused teams and contribute to projects that improve how automation is designed, deployed, operated, and scaled across Walmart stores. This role is ideal for undergraduate engineers who want hands-on experience working on large-scale, real-world systems where software, hardware, and operations intersect.
What You’ll Learn:
- How automated fulfillment systems operate end-to-end in live retail environments
- How engineering decisions affect cost, productivity, and customer experience
- How data, simulation, and experimentation drive operational improvements
- How cross-functional teams (engineering, product, operations) work together to scale automation
Team Options & Focus Areas
Interns will be aligned to one primary team, based on interest and business need:
1. Process Engineering
Focus: Operational processes and labor efficiency
This team defines how store associates and automation work together day-to-day. You’ll help:
- Analyze operational workflows and identify bottlenecks
- Improve throughput and labor productivity (UPLH)
- Evaluate process changes and their impact on capacity and efficiency
Example problems:
- How should work be sequenced to maximize throughput?
- Where does labor time get lost during peak volume?
2. Integration & Implementation
Focus: Operations readiness and launch, construction and design, and successful automation adoption
This team manages the end to end construction and launch and ensures stores are fully prepared to operate automation. You’ll help:
- Support site launch planning and track key readiness milestones
- Analyze operational data to identify workflow and throughput issues
- Review site layouts and identify gaps between system design and real-world store usage
- Develop tools, documentation, or feedback loops to improve adoption and address issues
Example problems:
- What causes stores to struggle after automation go-live?
- How can we reduce ramp-up time and operational errors?
- What causes certain sites to perform below others in key acceptance metrics?
3. Stability & Scalability
Focus: Automation reliability, availability, and customer impact
This team ensures automation is available 98%+ of the time, minimizing customer disruption. You’ll help:
- Analyze downtime, failure modes, and recovery processes
- Identify patterns that reduce automation availability
- Propose improvements to monitoring, response, or system design
Example problems:
- What causes automation downtime and how do we prevent it?
- How do we design systems that scale without increasing failure risk?
Sample Intern Projects (Across Teams)
- Analyze a specific APD workflow and assess its impact on:
- Throughput
- Labor efficiency
- System availability
- Build a data-backed recommendation to improve a process, design, or operational outcome
- Support a pilot or site review by summarizing performance, risks, and improvement opportunities
- Use simulation, analysis, or structured problem-solving to evaluate tradeoffs
Qualifications:
- Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Industrial, Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, Systems, or related field)
- Expected graduation date between December 2027 and May 2028
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Interest in automation, robotics, operations, or large-scale systems
- Comfortable working with data (Excel/Sheets required; coding or simulation tools a plus)
- Clear written and verbal communication skills
Success Metrics
- Ability to understand and explain complex systems
- Quality of analysis and clarity of recommendations
- Demonstrated impact on throughput, efficiency, reliability, or design outcomes
- Learning velocity and ability to operate in ambiguous environments
IMMIGRATION SPONSORSHIP IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR THIS ROLE
Respect the Individual: Demonstrates and encourages respect for others drives a positive associate and customer member experience for all embraces differences in people cultures ideas and experiences supports workplaces where associated feel seen and connected through a culture of belonging so all associates thrive and perform contributes to an environment allowing everyone to bring their best selves to work
Respect the Individual: Demonstrates engagement and commitment to the team developing others through feedback coaching mentoring and developmental opportunities and recognizes others contributions and accomplishments
Respect the Individual: Builds strong and trusting relationships with team members and business partners works collaboratively to achieve objectives communicates with impact and listens attentively to a range of audiences and demonstrates energy and positivity for own work
Act with Integrity: Maintains and promotes the highest standards of integrity ethics and compliance models the Walmart values and leads by example to foster our culture supports Walmarts goal of becoming a regenerative company by making a positive impact for associates customers and the world around us eg creating a sense of belonging eliminating waste participating in local giving
Act with Integrity: Follows the law our code of conduct and company policies and encourages others to do the same supports an environment where associates feel comfortable sharing concerns reinforces our culture of nonretaliation listens to concerns raised by associates and takes action acts with accountability for achieving results in a way that is consistent with our values
Act with Integrity: Is consistently humble selfaware honest and transparent
Serve our Customers and Members Delivers results while putting the customermember first and applying an omnimerchant mindset and acts with an Every Day LowCost mindset to drive value and Every Day Low Prices for customersmembers
Serve our Customers and Members Adopts a broad perspective that considers data analytics customermember insights and different parts of the business when making plans
Strive for Excellence: Consistently raises the bar and seeks to improve demonstrates curiosity and a growth mindset seeks feedback asks thoughtful questions supports innovation and intelligent risktaking and exhibits resilience in the face of setbacks
Strive for Excellence: Implements and supports continuous improvements and willingly embraces new digital tools and ways of working
At Walmart, we offer competitive pay and other great benefits for a happier mind, body, and wallet!
For information about benefits and eligibility, see One.Walmart.
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Minimum Qualifications...
Outlined below are the required minimum qualifications for this position. If none are listed, there are no minimum qualifications.
Preferred Qualifications...
Outlined below are the optional preferred qualifications for this position. If none are listed, there are no preferred qualifications.