Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.
The community you will join:
Airbnb is seeking an MBA student for a Sourcing Operations & Innovation Intern position on the Global Sourcing Team for the 2026 Summer Intern Program.
Airbnb’s Global Sourcing team partners with business, Finance, Legal, and Technology leaders to enable informed decisions about how we invest in external partnerships and suppliers. The team operates across enterprise technology, operations, and strategic services categories, influencing billions in annual third-party spend.
As sourcing evolves, AI and automation are reshaping how decisions are analyzed, structured, and executed. Rather than treating AI as a standalone tool, our team is focused on embedding intelligence into sourcing workflows, improving decision speed, insight quality, and operational clarity.
This internship sits at the intersection of sourcing strategy, operating model design, and AI enablement.
The difference you will make:
During the internship, you will partner with sourcing leaders to help design and prototype an AI-enabled sourcing operating model. The focus is not on replacing human judgment, but on improving how information is structured, analyzed, and used in decision-making. You will:
- Partner with sourcing managers to map end-to-end sourcing workflows and identify where AI augmentation can improve speed, quality, and consistency
- Support the structuring of sourcing knowledge, documentation, and templates to enable scalable AI usage across categories
- Prototype AI-enabled workflows such as deal summary generation, proposal comparison, contract insight extraction, and negotiation preparation
- Analyze how AI outputs integrate into real business decisions and propose improvements to increase reliability and adoption
- Support the development of metrics to measure the impact of AI on sourcing efficiency, cycle time, and decision clarity
- Learn how sourcing strategy connects finance discipline, supplier economics, and technology innovation
The goal of the internship is to leave behind reusable frameworks, structured workflows, and measurable impact. At the end of the internship, success looks like:
- Clear documentation of at least one sourcing workflow redesigned with AI augmentation
- Prototype(s) that can be iterated into production use
- Defined metrics to evaluate AI impact on sourcing
- A structured playbook outlining how AI integrates into sourcing decision processes
The intern experience:
As an intern, you will be embedded within the Global Sourcing team and contribute to high-visibility initiatives tied to enterprise operating model evolution. You will receive direct mentorship from sourcing leadership and collaborate with stakeholders across Finance, Legal, and Technology.
You can expect to:
- Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to understand real sourcing decisions and constraints
- Present structured analyses and workflow prototypes to senior team members
- Seek and incorporate feedback throughout the internship
- Participate in strategic planning discussions related to sourcing innovation
- Gain exposure to enterprise negotiations, supplier ecosystems, and decision frameworks
Your expertise:
This opportunity is for first-year MBA students (graduating Spring 2027) who are enrolled full-time at nationally-accredited U.S. business schools and bring the following skills and background:
- Strong structured problem-solving and analytical capabilities
- Demonstrated ability to apply AI tools to solve ambiguous business problems
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Comfort working in environments with incomplete data and evolving requirements
- Authorization to work in the United States
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience mapping workflows or redesigning operational processes
- Familiarity with automation tools, APIs, SQL, Python, or data visualization platforms
- Experience in consulting, procurement, operations, technology, or enterprise transformation
- Interest in human-in-the-loop systems and AI governance in business contexts
- Ability to translate technical concepts into business implications
How to apply:
In addition to a resume, please submit a cover letter that addresses the following:
- why Airbnb,
- why you are interested in interning with the Global Sourcing Team,
- how this internship aligns with your long-term career goals, and
- how your background meets the expertise requirements listed above.
Our commitment to inclusion & belonging:
Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.
We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application, please contact us at: [email protected]. Please include your full name, the role you’re applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process.
We ask that you only reach out to us if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from being able to complete our online application.
How we’ll take care of you:
Our job titles may span more than one career or degree level. This role may also be eligible for benefits and Employee Travel Credits.
Currency: USD Pay rate: $48 per hour
Airbnb Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Airbnb and has not been reviewed or approved by Airbnb.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay ranges and total compensation components are increasingly disclosed, and country-level pay practices avoid location-based cuts, which feedback suggests improves consistency and perceived fairness.
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Healthcare Strength — Comprehensive core health coverage for employees, mental health resources, and substantial dependent support are repeatedly highlighted as robust and a standout element of the package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Generous PTO, a winter shutdown, sabbaticals, and paid volunteer time are described as extensive, with parental leave and phased return options reinforcing time-off flexibility.
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What We Do
Airbnb is a community based on connection and belonging—a community that was born in 2008 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to 4 million hosts who have welcomed over 800 million guest arrivals to about 100,000 cities in almost every country and region across the globe. Hosts on Airbnb are everyday people who share their worlds to provide guests with the feeling of connection and being at home. At Airbnb, we believe that hosts, guests and the communities where we operate are all stakeholders we have a responsibility to serve, and that by serving them alongside our employees and investors, we will build an enduringly successful company.
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