Software Engineering Intern

Great Expectations is excited to add a Software Engineering Intern to our team, starting part time during the Spring and full time in the Summer. All candidates are encouraged to apply regardless of end of term date.

We are an entrepreneurial, fast-moving Real Estate Private Equity business focused on providing innovative, affordable, and profitable housing. We aim to be the best in the business at development, acquisitions, and property management — and we build the tools to prove it.

The Opportunity

This is an ideal role for a CS student who wants to apply their technical skills to real business problems from day one. Rather than working on abstract exercises or peripheral projects, you will build and ship internal software that directly supports the operations of a vertically integrated real estate company — touching leasing, property management, acquisitions, and finance. You will see exactly how your code creates business value, and you'll have the mentorship and context to understand why.

Who We Are

Great Expectations is a small and growing Real Estate Private Equity firm focused on providing innovative, affordable, and profitable housing for Seattle-area residents. We are logical, detail-oriented, motivated, and decisive. We value collaboration, see opportunities where others do not, and work together to move quickly and effectively. We are lean, non-hierarchical, and surrounded by opportunity.

As a small firm, we have a particularly strong commitment to our values and expect our team members to share them. We value:

Inclusion and Diversity within our company, in how we select partners, and how we design for customers. We actively seek and learn from different perspectives.

Teamwork: We communicate consistently, learn from one another, and always operate as a team when faced with a challenge. We only win as a team.

Data-based decision making: We consider the facts and identify patterns to make good decisions and evaluate mistakes. There is always a "best" answer.

Question conventional wisdom: If something doesn't make sense or data suggests otherwise, we dig in and decide how to act. We love it when we see something others don't.

Respect for our residents: The people who live in our buildings are our business partners. We listen to them, respect them, and aim to build them the homes they want at the price they can afford.

We pick up trash: We understand that details matter — in code, in process, and on the ground at our properties.

Who You Are

You are a college student in your 2nd or 3rd year studying Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical discipline:

You have experience building software — personal projects, coursework, or prior internships all count

You are hungry for mentorship from people who run a real business, and you want to understand how the software you build gets used in the real world

You are comfortable working directly with leadership, can communicate technical concepts clearly to non-technical teammates, and spot problems before they ship

You are analytically strong, comfortable working with data, and excited by the idea of turning messy operational workflows into clean, reliable systems

You understand the responsibility and opportunity of being a core technical contributor on a small team — your work will matter immediately

What You Will Do

Working directly with our leadership team, you will design, build, and iterate on internal tools that support every part of our business. This is not a shadow role — you will own projects end to end.

This includes:

Auditing our current operational workflows and tech stack to identify inefficiencies and build-vs-buy opportunities

Building and maintaining internal web applications and dashboards supporting leasing, property management, and financial reporting

Developing automations that reduce manual work across our team (lead tracking, lease workflows, maintenance coordination, reporting, etc.)

Integrating third-party APIs and data sources relevant to our business (property listings, market data, communication tools, etc.)

Writing clean, documented, maintainable code and contributing to a culture of technical rigor

Participating fully as a team member — attending business meetings, understanding the operational context behind your projects, and suggesting improvements from a technical perspective

What You Should Bring

We are looking for someone with strong technical fundamentals, real curiosity about how businesses operate, and the professional orientation to work directly with a small leadership team. Specific qualifications include:

Proficiency in at least one modern web development language or framework (Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, React, etc.)

Comfort working with databases and structured data (SQL or similar)

Experience or strong interest in building internal tools, automations, or data pipelines

Ability to scope and manage your own projects with light supervision

Clear written and verbal communication — you'll be explaining your work to non-engineers regularly

Flexibility and a bias toward action: in a small firm, priorities shift and the best engineers adapt quickly

Arboreal is a drug-free workplace, and we use E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires