Development, Intern

Are you ready to gain hands-on experience with an industry-leading real estate company? Essex Property Trust, an S&P 500 real estate investment trust (REIT), invites highly motivated college students to join our 8-week, paid summer internship program in Development. As a Development Intern, you will support the team responsible for sourcing, entitling, and executing multifamily development projects—contributing to a pipeline of 1,000–1,500 units in various stages of progress. 

This internship offers meaningful exposure to the full development lifecycle and the opportunity to work on high impact projects that influence our future portfolio. This is a full-time internship, Monday through Friday, with a pay rate of $26.00 per hour. 

WHAT YOU WILL DO 

Support Financial Analysis Activities 

• Assist in preparing and updating basic financial models used to evaluate development opportunities. 

• Help compile project budgets, gather data, and prepare schedules for feasibility, entitlement/design, and construction phases. 

• Support pipeline organization and tracking by maintaining spreadsheets and updating internal reports. 

Assist With Site Identification & Due Diligence 

• Help gather information on potential development sites through market research and desktop analysis. 

• Assist cross functional teams by organizing due diligence materials such as zoning documents, maps, reports, and consultant feedback. 

• Support the review process by helping compile checklists, summaries, and comparison tables. 

Conduct Market & Zoning Research 

• Research market trends, comp data, and local economic indicators to support internal decision making. 

• Assist in reviewing zoning codes, development requirements, and entitlement processes across target markets. 

• Help maintain and organize a library of market data, zoning summaries, and relevant local policies. 

Support Entitlement, Design & Project Execution Tasks 

• Work closely with Project Managers, Directors, and VPs to support entitlement-related tasks, including helping prepare presentations, reviewing zoning references, and coordinating information from stakeholders. 

• Assist in the review process of architectural and construction documents by organizing materials, logging revisions, and helping prepare comments. 

• Help coordinate with consultants—architects, engineers, contractors—by tracking proposals, invoices, and change orders for alignment with budgets. 

• Assist in preparing investment memos, presentations, and project documentation by collecting project inputs and formatting materials. 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED 

• Education – You must be enrolled in a four-year accredited undergraduate program or a Master’s Program, majoring in Real Estate, Finance, Economics, Business, Construction Management,Urban Planning, Architecture, Engineering, or a related field. Rising seniors (Class of 2027) or Master Program students are encouraged to apply. 

• Relevant Experience – Prior internship, project-based work, or campus involvement related to real estate development, construction management, planning, or data analysis is strongly preferred; experience applying analytical or research skills in a professional or academic setting is a plus. 

• Skills & Attributes – Strong written and verbal communication, analytical thinking, curiosity, organization, and the ability to interpret information with guidance. Basic quantitative skills and comfort with detail are important. 

• Technical – Comfortable with core Excel functions (e.g., SUMIFS, XLOOKUP/INDEX-MATCH, IF/AND/OR), pivot tables, basic data cleaning (duplicates, formatting, missing values), Conditional Formatting, and structured tables. Experience organizing datasets and building simple sensitivities is a plus. 

• Work Environment – This is a hybrid role, requiring you to be in our San Mateo office four days a week (Monday – Thursday). 

WHAT THE JOB REQUIRES 

• Interest in real estate development, finance, design, and project management.  

• Ability to work collaboratively with multiple departments and partners.  

• Strong attention to detail and a willingness to learn new skills.  

• Proactive curiosity — asking questions, seeking clarity, and taking initiative in tasks. 

WHAT YOU WILL BRING TO THE TABLE 

• A growth mindset – You’re excited to learn the development process from experienced professionals. 

• A team-player approach – You collaborate well and communicate clearly.  

• An analytical mindset – You enjoy research, problem solving, and understanding how pieces fit together.  

• A strong work ethic – You take initiative, follow through, and deliver quality work.