Department: Technology
Our Company Promise
We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer.
Job Description:
Summer 2026 Software Engineer Intern
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To be considered, please ensure that you attach a resume to your application.
We ask that you apply with your personal email address rather than your school email (. edu ) so we can stay connected about future roles at Southwest.
Southwest Airlines promises to provide Employees with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. We entrust our Interns working in Technology to make an impact on their Team in real-time projects, work collaboratively with other Technology Interns and workgroups, make progress to achieve Company initiatives, and deliver on our Company Purpose of connecting People to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel, all while having fun and developing yourself as a future professional. The Software Engineer Intern is a skilled communicator and problem-solver ready to drive the future of Southwest's Technology.
Additional Details
This role is offered as a remote workplace position, which may require travel for trainings, meetings, conferences, etc. Outside of those required visits, the majority of your working time may be spent in an approved remote location, away from our Corporate Campus. Please note, while this is a remote position, there is limited group of states or localities ineligible for Employees to regularly perform their work off-site. Those ineligible locations are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New Hampshire New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming, and Puerto Rico.
If you currently reside in an ineligible location, you may relocate to an eligible location and be considered for an internship.
U.S. citizenship or current authorization to work in the U.S. required and no current or future work authorization sponsorship available.
We’re committed to fair hiring practices and to making employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, military or veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other legally protected characteristics.
The Intern will work full-time as a Software Engineer Intern within the Technology Department. The Intern may be asked to support a variety of projects within one or more of the following Teams:
Airline Products
Revenue Management Technology Team : From the point of view of a position within Revenue Management Technology, you get a great perspective of how an airline maximizes revenue and increases profitability through Revenue Management Systems. Revenue Management systems are the systems that help to forecast the right seat at the right time at the right price for the traveling consumer. Beyond Revenue Management forecasting our vast and complex data sets are used to support various capabilities within Southwest.com and Marketing. Joining Revenue Management Technology, is an opportunity to work on exciting on premise and Cloud based technologies that support our Revenue and Inventory Systems where you will gain an understanding of the science behind forecasting customer demand and sellable inventory at Southwest Airlines.
Digital \& Customer
Digital Platforms (Native App Development) Team: Be a part of a dynamic group of developers supporting our iOS and Android apps, which are the primary choice of our Customers to interact with Southwest Airlines to buy tickets, check-in for flights, and other revenue and service features .
Air Operations
Aircraft Ops – Air Traffic Management: This Team supports the Air Traffic Management Team in the Network Operations Control (NOC). We deliver new capabilities to help our ATC Specialists collaborate with the FAA, helping us reduce delays for our Customers and improve our operational reliability.
Crew Scheduling \& Recovery Team: The work this Team does directly impacts the system our pilots and flight attendants use. It’s truly an opportunity to impact how Southwest Airlines operates . We have team building activities every month and celebrate birthdays and anniversaries of our C ohearts (Southwest family) .
OpsSuite and Optimization Team ( Air Operations Platform ): This Team maintain s and evolve s the virtualized cloud infrastructure-as-code for the Air Operations' platform. We develop software that improves the developer experience for Air Operations developers, with the goal of reducing lead time. We focus on visualizing cost, programmatically optimizing cost, and increasing cloud resource utilization . We teach T eams about cloud development, container orchestration, and observability best practices. We help research and evaluate new technologies for Air Operations and Technology-wide adoption. We participate in an on-call rotation. We value protecting our teammates from burnout and accommodate people's schedules as needed. We are committed to improving ourselves and the services we provide. We teach each other and learn from our mistakes, often through blameless post-mortems. We contribute to open source projects we depend on.
Technical \& Ground Ops
TechOps Technology – MRO Delivery Team : Join our dynamic Delivery T eam in Tech Ops, where innovation drives everything we do. We design and build cloud-based applications and integrations that directly enhance Southwest’s Aircraft Maintenance platforms, ensuring safety, efficiency, and reliability at scale. Our T eam is known for delivering solutions that not only solve complex technical problems but also create meaningful business impact. As an I ntern, you’ll gain hands-on experience with modern cloud technologies, CI/CD pipelines, and custom development practices. You’ll work alongside engineers, product owners, and analysts who are passionate about building scalable systems and mentoring the next generation of tech talent. If you’re excited to learn, innovate, and see your work in action on real-world airline operations, this is the place for you.
Ground Operations Technology Team : This Te am is essential to our airport operation and current modernization efforts across Southwest Airlines. We provide flight and operational data directly to our airports to support display screens and digital signage to ensure our Customers and E mployees have the most up-to-date travel information . We support the boarding process both visually and audibly to provide our employees and Customers with tools they need to safely and efficiently board our aircraft . In addition to in airport tools and support, we offer the ability for our Cruise Ship partners to provide off-site check in services for our Customers . We support 6 products across this amazing T eam providing a fun and interactive learning environment and an opportunity to grow your knowledge in a variety of areas.
People \& Finance
SAP Finance Team: The SAP Finance Team supports the backbone of our financial applications, SAP . With that, they support Accounting and Treasury functions, which include Financial Accounting, Finance Close and Consolidations, Debt and Cash management, Management and Regulatory Reporting, and Finance Controls . The Team partners closely with their Finance Business partners to deliver technology capabilities for Finance across all areas of Southwest Airlines.
People and Communications – Social Business and Communications Team: Our Team has the exciting privilege to partner with the experts on our Southwest Social Business and Communications Teams. We partner closely with our Southwest Social Business Cohearts to deliver technical solutions and capabilities which help power the ability to steer the Company voice through social channels. W e p artner closely with our S outhwest Corporate Communications Cohearts to deliver technical solutions that enable effective, meaningful communication to our Employees as well as enable our Employees to communicate with one another .
Data \& Architecture
IDF Integrated Data Foundation Team: We’re a dynamic T eam of softw are and data engineers delivering enterprise-grade data products that empower fast, informed decision-making. By creating situational awareness and enabling predictive AI models, we support operational systems with real-time insights into passenger loads, fleet, and crew data—helping plan the day of operations with precision and agility .
Duties and Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities of the Software Engineer Intern may include, but are not limited to:
Analyze, design, write program code, test, document, and implement functionally appropriate, technically sound, and well-integrated application systems in accordance with Customer requirements, and organizational methodologies and standards.
Respond to production problems and implement immediate resolution efforts across technology areas.
Maintain awareness of technology trends in the area of responsibility.
Meet commitments and deliverables related to participating in projects.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, team-based, Customer service-oriented environment with a high regard for hospitality.
Demonstrate programming aptitude and ability for logical and abstract thinking .
Time Commitment and Pay
Required: Full-time 40hrs a week
Must maintain a consistent weekly schedule during normal business hours at a max of 8 hours per day
Program Dates: May 19 – August 7 , 202 6
$25-$29 per hour, corresponding with progress toward degree (students with more completed semesters may qualify for higher rates within the range)
Stipends may be offered based on eligibility and program criteria
T o apply, you must submit your application and upload a resume for each role online at www.southwest.com/careers .
We are committed to helping individuals with disabilities participate in the workforce and ensuring equal opportunity to apply and compete for jobs. If you need accommodation at any point in the hiring process due to a disability, you may email the Accommodations Team or call 877-792-4792.
Education
High School Diploma, GED or equivalent education required.
Progress towards degree, major, or minor in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems or Information Technology, Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Business , or a similar degree.
Progress towards a 4-year undergraduate degree preferred.
To be eligible, you must be currently enrolled as a full-time student (as defined by your university) at the time of application and during the internship.
1-2 semester s remaining at the time the internship ends is preferred.
Minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA at the time of application.
Other Qualifications
Must be at least 18 years of age.
You must have a valid U.S. Social Security Number to complete the full hiring process
Experience:
Preferred: Experience with cloud technologies, with a preference for AWS services such as Lambda, EC2, S3, and IAM; cloud training or coursework in AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
Preferred: E xperience with scripting and software testing techniques.
Preferred: Exposure to native app development.
Preferred: Classroom and/or coursework in s oftware development.
Preferred: Classroom and/or industry experience using at least one programming language.
Preferred: Classroom and/or industry experience using Java, API, Node Js, Python, JavaScript, JSON, XML, HTML, CSS, React, Jira, Kafka, GitLab basics, including pipelines and CI/CD concepts.
Preferred: Exposure to or understanding of event-driven architecture.
Preferred: Classroom and/or industry experience with React preferred
Preferred: Knowledge of Agile or Scaled Agile ( SAFe ) methodologies.
Preferred: Basic knowledge of software development methodologies, practices, concepts, technologies, and technical options.
Preferred: Ability to stay organized and manage multiple and concurrent assignments under tight deadlines.
Preferred: Previous internship or work experience as a Software Engineer within the past 12 months.
Preferred: Classroom and/or industry experience delivering presentations in a group setting.
Preferred: Works well in a culture that is open, direct, respectful, courteous, and compassionate.
As an Intern, you can expect to:
Receive free, unlimited space available travel privileges for yourself (taxes and fees may apply on international travel).
Interns will be provided any required equipment, such as a laptop, for the internship.
Southwest Airlines is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Please print/save this job description because it won't be available after you apply.
Job Posting End Date
10/15/2025