Web Automation Intern

Position Overview

We're seeking a technically sophisticated intern who understands the deeper mechanics of web automation, AI-driven data extraction, and intelligent scraping systems. This role requires someone who can think like an AI engineer - understanding not just what buttons to click, but how browser automation, proxy networks, and anti-detection systems work under the hood.

What We're Really Looking For

An AI-Native Problem Solver who can:

• Understand how Playwright/Puppeteer engines actually interact with DOM elements
• Think through the logic of how social media algorithms detect and block automated behavior
• Reverse-engineer website structures and API endpoints
• Build intelligent, adaptive automation that learns from failures

Core Technical ResponsibilitiesDeep Platform Understanding (35% of time)

• Apify Architecture Mastery:
  Understand Actor lifecycle, dataset management, and request queue optimization
• Browser Automation Internals:
  Configure headless Chrome/Firefox parameters, viewport simulation, and user-agent rotation
• Proxy Network Intelligence:
  Manage residential vs datacenter proxies, implement smart rotation algorithms, and handle IP reputation
• Anti-Detection Engineering:
  Implement human-like delays, mouse movement patterns, and behavioral mimicry
• Memory & Resource Optimization:
  Fine-tune Actor memory allocation, concurrent request handling, and rate limiting

AI-Driven Data Intelligence (30% of time)

• Pattern Recognition:
  Identify changes in website structures before they break scrapers
• Data Quality ML:
  Build automated data validation using pattern matching and anomaly detection
• Lead Scoring Algorithms:
  Implement intelligent lead qualification based on scraped behavioral data
• Predictive Maintenance:
  Use metrics to predict when scrapers will fail and proactively update them
• Natural Language Processing:
  Extract meaningful insights from social media text data

Automation Architecture (25% of time)

• Webhook & API Integration:
  Build real-time data pipelines that respond to events
• Error Handling Intelligence:
  Create self-healing automation that adapts to platform changes
• Distributed Computing:
  Optimize Actor runs across multiple instances for maximum efficiency
• Data Pipeline Engineering:
  Design ETL processes that clean, normalize, and enrich lead data
• Monitoring & Alerting Systems:
  Build dashboards that provide real-time insights into scraping health

Strategic Optimization (10% of time)

• Performance Analytics:
  Deep-dive into Actor performance metrics and optimization opportunities
• Cost-Efficiency Analysis:
  Balance compute units, proxy costs, and success rates
• Compliance Automation:
  Ensure scrapers respect , rate limits, and platform ToS
• Innovation Research:
  Stay ahead of platform changes and emerging scraping technologies

Required Technical ExpertiseProgramming & Automation

• Proficiency:
  Ability to read, modify, and write Apify Actor code from scratch
• Browser DevTools Mastery:
  Expert-level Chrome DevTools usage for debugging and reverse engineering
• HTTP/HTTPS Protocol Understanding:
  Headers, cookies, authentication, session management
• JSON/XML Data Manipulation:
  Complex data parsing, transformation, and validation
• Regular Expressions:
  Advanced pattern matching for data extraction and validation

AI & Machine Learning Foundations

• Statistical Analysis:
  Understanding of data distributions, outlier detection, and quality metrics
• Basic ML Concepts:
  Classification, clustering, and recommendation systems for lead scoring
• NLP Fundamentals:
  Text analysis, sentiment analysis, and entity extraction
• Data Science Tools:
  Python/R for data analysis, Jupyter notebooks for experimentation
• A/B Testing:
  Statistical significance, hypothesis testing, and performance measurement

Advanced Qualifications We're SeekingEducational Background

• Computer Science, AI/ML, Data Science, or related technical field
• Coursework in algorithms, data structures, machine learning, and web technologies
• Personal projects involving web scraping, automation, or AI applications
• Understanding of software engineering principles and design patterns

Hands-On Experience

• Web Scraping Projects:
  Built scrapers that handle complex, dynamic websites
• Automation Experience:
  Created workflows that run with minimal human intervention
• AI/ML Applications:
  Applied machine learning to real-world data problems
• API Development:
  Built or extensively used REST APIs and webhook systems
• Problem-Solving Portfolio:
  Can demonstrate systematic approaches to complex technical challenges

Deep Understanding Areas

• How browsers actually work: Rendering engines, JavaScript execution, network requests
• Why scrapers break: Platform changes, anti-bot measures, IP blocking, rate limiting
• Data quality challenges: Duplicates, inconsistencies, validation, and cleaning
• Scaling considerations: Memory usage, request queuing, distributed processing
• Security implications: Data privacy, compliance, and ethical scraping practices

What Success Looks LikeTechnical Achievements

• 99%+ Uptime:
  Build scrapers so robust they rarely fail
• Sub-5% Data Quality Issues:
  Implement validation that catches problems before they reach sales
• 50%+ Cost Reduction:
  Optimize resource usage through intelligent automation
• Predictive Maintenance:
  Detect and fix issues before they cause downtime
• Self-Improving Systems:
  Build automation that gets better over time

Innovation Metrics

• Proactive Problem Solving:
  Identify and solve issues before they're reported
• Technical Documentation:
  Create resources that enable others to understand and extend the system
• Process Improvements:
  Implement at least 3 significant efficiency gains during internship
• Knowledge Transfer:
  Train team members on advanced Apify techniques and best practices
• Learning & Growth Opportunities:
• Mentorship from AI Engineers: Work directly with senior technical staff
• Cutting-Edge Tool Access: Latest automation, AI, and data analysis platforms
• Conference & Training Budget: Attend relevant technical conferences and workshops
• Open Source Contributions: Opportunity to contribute to automation and AI projects
• Technical Blog Writing: Share learnings and build technical reputation