Strategic Planning & Development Intern: Year Round

Apply by Date: 10/21/2026
Hourly Minimum Pay Rate: $24.58 / hour
Hourly Maximum Pay Rate: $29.95 / hour

About SMUD's College Internship Program

SMUD's College Internship Program provides college interns with an opportunity to contribute their skills and knowledge to SMUD while gaining valuable work experience. Workshops and activities will also be part of the program where interns will have the opportunity to be immersed in SMUD's culture and learn leadership skills as well as develop their professional skills.

SMUD was also recognized by Interns 2 Pros for the 2020 Internship Program of The Year Award in recognition of excellence in internship strategy, implementation, and impact and was one of five finalists for the 2023 Internship Program of the Year from Interns 2 Pros along with Paramount, Fox Corporation, Intuit, and Toyota.

The position reports to the Manager of Program Planning & Development in Distributed Energy Solutions (DES).The DES department develops and implements progressive programs that support SMUD’s Zero Carbon Plan and long-term sustainability goals. This position will support the Planning & Development team by providing data analysis and/or project support for program planning, budgets, reporting, technology, and initiatives related to our portfolio of programs, which may include Electric Transportation, Load Flexibility, Building Electrification, Energy Efficiency, and Green Pricing in both the residential and commercial sectors.

The student will gain exposure to program planning and development in the utility industry and contribute to the creation of customer and grid benefit programs that support carbon reduction.

Responsibilities include:

• Assist in the planning and development of new and existing programs.
• Create visual process maps and workflows using Microsoft Visio to support program documentation and communication.
• Conduct research and benchmarking to inform program design and strategic decisions.
• Perform data entry, data cleaning, and data compilation to support program tracking and reporting.
• Analyze program data to identify trends, insights, and opportunities for improvement.
• Support the development of internal reports and presentations for stakeholders.
• Assist in drafting and maintaining procedure documentation.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to gather information and support project coordination.
• Support the development and maintenance of project timelines, trackers, and planning tools.
• Assist in preparing meeting materials, agendas, and summaries for internal and external stakeholder meetings.
• Review and organize program documentation to ensure version control and accessibility.
• Assist in identifying process improvement opportunities and documenting recommendations.
• Shadow team members during cross-functional meetings to gain exposure to utility planning and program development processes

Under staff direction, incumbents in this classification are full-time students in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Math program who perform research and analytical tasks for projects and assignments that utilize specific and acquired academic skills and knowledge in alignment with their educational disciplines.

The work performed in this classification calls for regular application of analytical and independent research skills. Work is closely related to the employee’s academic major in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics.

• Performs tasks of an analytical or research nature for suitable projects or ongoing assignments which call for specific acquired academic skills and knowledge in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math.
• May locate sources of information; collect and organize data.
• Makes computations and…