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At X, we don’t chase 10% improvements. We drive 10x impact. We are a factory of inventors, engineers, and entrepreneurs building technologies that sound like science fiction. But a breakthrough in the lab is only a "moonshot" if it can reach the people who need it. The Business Innovation team is responsible for market understanding, product hypotheses, business model innovation, and strategic partnerships to unlock moonshots.
About the Internship
If you are interested in building the bridge between frontier technologies and global scale, this could be the internship for you. We are looking for bright, humble, creative, playful, and brave individuals who question conventional wisdom and are highly self-motivated.
As an MBA Intern within the Business Innovation team, you will be embedded into projects, partnering with Business Innovation Leads and Project Leads to help identify and answer high-impact strategic questions. Each intern will be assigned to a different part of the pipeline (early, mid, and late) based on relevant experience and interest.
***This isn’t a typical corporate internship. You will be pushed to think bigger than you ever have before.***
What You Might Do (“might” because the needs of each project and portfolio stage are very different):
- Mapping the Unknown: You might lead market sizing, value chain mapping, investor ecosystems mapping, and competitive analysis for technologies that are so new, the regulatory and commercial "playbooks" haven't been written yet.
- Stress-Testing the Model: You might build and refine economic models to ensure our projects can become profitable businesses at a global scale.
- De-risking the Non-Technical: You might work cross-functionally to identify and navigate the non-engineering hurdles—legal, policy, privacy, and partnership—that stand between a prototype and the market.
- Strategizing: You might synthesize vast amounts of ambiguous data into clear, strategy docs and presentations for project leadership to guide the direction of the moonshot.
- Launching: You might provide analysis required to support the divestiture of an X project.
Ideal Candidates
- Strategic Generalists: You have a technical foundation (BS/BA in CS, Robotics, or Engineering) but think like a CEO. You can dive deep into technical details and then zoom out to see the market landscape on a 10-year horizon.
- Ambiguity-Fluent: You don’t need a manual. You are energized by "zero-to-one" environments where the goal is clear but the path is completely unpaved. You are a self starter.
- Analytical & Persuasive: You can gather disparate data points, find the signal in the noise, and use it to influence technical teams and senior executives who do not report to you.
- Impact-Driven: You are motivated by the chance to use technology to solve the world’s hardest problems.
Minimum Qualifications
- Currently pursuing an MBA (please do not apply if you have already graduated).
- 2+ years of professional experience in hardtech, software, manufacturing, finance, venture capital (and/or CVC), or management consulting.
- Exceptional ability to write strategy documents and deliver presentations that simplify complex ideas.
- Self-directed and able to drive multiple workstreams to completion in a fast-paced environment
Nice to Haves
- Transactional experience (VC, PE, M&A)
- Experience with AI & ML
- Experience working with robotics, automation, or manufacturing
- Experience with financial modeling
- Ability to influence without authority
During your Internship, you can expect to:
- To be placed on at least one of our confidential or public X projects
- To get paid competitively and with Google benefits
- To understand mindsets for radical innovation and how projects flow through the Factory to value creation
- To be part of a lively community of other Interns and Residents
Details:
- Laptops and equipment will be provided
- Location: X's headquarters in Mountain View, CA
- Start Date(s): May/June 2025 (full-time); 12-14 weeks on average
- Duration: a flexible 4 mo. to 1 year program based on project team needs and your availability
Additional public information:
https://www.wired.com/video/watch/astro-teller-captain-of-moonshots-at-x-speaks-at-wired25
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2019-10-10/alphabet-x-s-astro-teller-on-bloomberg-studio-1-0-video
The US base salary range for this position is $109,000 - $121,000 + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.
Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include benefits.
X, The Moonshot Factory Mountain View, California, USA Office
1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA , United States, 94043
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