The First Pass #20 — Move Before You Need To
This week, TFP drops 30 roles. Don’t just read them, apply. Early careers are shaped by speed and momentum.
Was in the mountains this weekend with no network. 10/10 experience. I might just save enough and shift permanently.
I wanted to discuss something important as we keep growing.
Being a subscriber isn’t enough. You actually have to apply to the roles I bring.
If you’re thinking, “I’m not looking right now,” remember this: finding a genuinely good role usually takes 2–3 months. By the time you need one, you’re already late.
And “I’ll apply later” almost never happens. We all know it. I’ve been guilty of it too.
Early in your career, speed either makes people or breaks them. If you’re going to fail, fail fast. Move fast. Keep up the momentum.
Why else do you think founders in issue #11 kept moving despite such odds? Cause they believed in failing and iterating fast.
A plane flies while us humans can’t, even though the plane is far heavier. Why? Speed!
Careers work similarly. Stay in motion.
TFP is growing and I need your help :)
On another note, I am looking for someone with a tiny bit of writing/editorial experience. Mostly to join my one-person team at TFP and help me collecting vacancies, writing newsletters while I focus on the building relationships, collabs, and strategy. Hit me up to discuss more - sourjesh.substack@gmail.com
2nd/3rd years, and regular readers of TFP preferred. Work at your times. and ofc, its paid :).
Bangalore
Tech Roles
1. SDE Intern (+PPO) – SkillsCapital
Internship | Fully Remote | ₹50,000–₹60,000/month
SkillsCapital is hiring a full-stack SWE intern — frontend applications, backend APIs, and full-stack features end-to-end.
Tech stack: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Node.js/Express, Python, Java, REST APIs, SQL, NoSQL, Git, Cloud platforms
Skills needed: Final year or recent CS grad, strong programming fundamentals, full-stack comfort
Why you should apply:
₹50–60K/month fully remote is the best stipend in this issue. Upper end clears most full-time salaries at early-stage companies.
The application asks for availability dates and a short note on why the role excites you — low friction, high signal format.
Email — careers@SkillsCapital.io
2. Full Stack Intern – Smallest.ai
Internship | Bangalore | 2–3 months
Smallest.ai is hiring a full-stack intern to work on their internal platform — shipping to production, owning features end-to-end, and seeing how AI infrastructure gets built outside of tutorials.
Tech stack: TypeScript, React, Next.js, SQL
Skills needed: Solid TypeScript and React, clear async written communication, real code to show (side projects, OSS, anything shipped)
Why you should apply:
“Learn how AI infrastructure actually gets built outside of tutorials” is the most honest framing of what makes this different from a standard web dev internship.
They respond within a day. In a world of 3-week hiring silences, that alone is worth something.
The application asks for a 200-word note on a technical problem you’re proud of solving. If you can write that well, you’re already ahead.
Email — aditya@smallest.ai (CC: sumit.m@smallest.ai)
3. Frontend Engineer Intern – SIA
Internship | Bangalore
Building interfaces for an agentic recruiting platform — generative UI that adapts in real time, React/Next.js components, and shipping in a live product environment.
Tech stack: JavaScript, React, Next.js, HTML, CSS, Cursor, Claude
Skills needed: JS fundamentals, React, responsive design basics, AI coding tool comfort
Why you should apply:
Generative UI — dynamic, AI-driven interfaces that adapt in real time — is a frontier frontend problem. Most interns never touch it.
Cursor and Claude listed as explicit tools in the JD. If you already use them daily, you walk in with an advantage.
Recruiting tech built on agentic systems is one of the more interesting applied AI verticals right now.
4. Intern/SDE1 – Keploy
Full-time | Bangalore
Keploy is a zero-code API testing platform that generates test cases and data mocks from real API calls. The intern/SDE1 works on real-world production traffic, leads technical architecture within the company and the open-source community, and ensures high-quality test coverage.
Tech stack: Linux kernel development, eBPF-based development, backend web development, OOP, automated testing frameworks
Why you should apply:
eBPF-based development is one of the most niche and high-value skills in systems engineering. Very few interns have it. If you do, apply immediately.
Open-source community leadership from an intern role is unusual and portfolio-defining.
Zero-code API testing is a space that every engineering team eventually buys. Getting inside the company building it is good positioning.
5. Frontend ASE – Mygate
Full-time | Bangalore | 0–1 years
Mygate is a gated community management platform. Hiring a Frontend ASE with strong React.js, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. Focus on scalable, high-performance applications.
Tech stack: React.js, JavaScript, HTML, CSS
Skills needed: Scalable application building, strong problem-solving, 0–1 years experience
Why you should apply:
Mygate operates at real consumer scale — millions of residents across gated communities. Frontend work here has actual load and performance constraints.
0–1 years experience makes this accessible for fresh graduates or strong interns.
Good for people who want in-person team learning.
6. Software Developer Intern – EarlyFit
Internship | Bangalore
EarlyFit is a healthtech startup hiring a Software Developer Intern for real-world problem solving and fast learning.
Skills needed: Building mindset, fast learning, execution focus
Why you should apply:
Healthtech at an early stage means your code ships to real users with real health needs. High stakes context for an internship.
Very thin on details — which means the role is shaped by who joins. That’s either exciting or risky. Clarify before committing.
7. Research Intern – Nokia Bell Labs (Radio Systems)
Internship | Bangalore (On-site) | 6 months | PhD / MS (Research) only
Nokia Bell Labs is hiring a Research Intern for their Radio Systems team — AI/ML-driven wireless sensing, learning-based signal processing pipelines for next-generation wireless systems, algorithm development, and performance evaluation on real and simulated datasets.
Also, a good read on Nokia finally showing signs of comeback.
Tech stack: AI/ML, signal processing, wireless communications, programming for research workflows
Skills needed: PhD or MS (Research) in progress, strong AI/ML + signal processing + wireless comms foundation, hands-on programming
Why you should apply:
Nokia Bell Labs is one of the most storied research institutions in tech history. Six months here is a credential that carries weight in both academia and industry.
Potential to contribute to publications — at an internship, that’s a rare and meaningful offer.
Hard eligibility filter (PhD/MS Research only) makes this a small pool. If you qualify, apply fast.
8. Platform Intern – Zinnov
Internship | Koramangala, Bangalore
Zinnov is a global management consulting firm — 450+ professionals, 10 global offices, working with enterprises on market entry, global operating models, M&A, and growth strategy. The Platforms intern role sits inside their consulting practice.
Skills needed: Independent thinking, crisp communication, early ownership, comfort with steep learning curves and honest feedback
Why you should apply:
Zinnov’s client work spans Digital Services, ER&D, Semiconductors, Healthcare, BFSI, Automotive, PE — unusually broad industry exposure for a single internship.
Koramangala location, structured consulting environment — good fit if you want management consulting exposure without an MBA gate.
9. Intern – PayU Payments
Internship | Bangalore
PayU is one of India’s leading digital payments companies, backed by Prosus. The intern role is engineering-focused.
Tech stack: Core CS fundamentals, DSA, system design
Why you should apply:
PayU processes payments at significant scale for Indian businesses. Engineering exposure here means working on systems where correctness and latency actually matter.
Access to 5,000+ training courses (Harvard, Coursera, Udacity) is a real perk — use it, most interns don’t.
Prosus-backed, RBI-regulated. Stable, structured company for a first fintech internship.
10. AI Engineer FDE – Oogway Labs
Full-time | 0–1 years
Oogway Labs delivers AI transformation projects for clients. The Forward Deployed Engineer builds and ships AI-ready data systems, RAG pipelines, agents for workflow automation etc. Direct client exposure from day one.
Tech stack: RAG pipelines, AI agents, workflow automation, SLM fine-tuning/post-training, data systems
Why you should apply:
Forward Deployed Engineer at 0–1 years means you’re doing the most complex AI deployment work at the earliest stage of your career. Steep but real.
Client-facing AI engineering is the fastest way to learn what actually breaks in production AI systems.
Post-training and fine-tuning of open-source SLMs is a skill most AI engineers at large companies never touch in their first few years.
Non-Tech Roles
11. Product Intern – Vedantu
Internship | Bangalore (WFO) | 3 months | PPO
Vedantu is one of India’s most established edtech platforms — millions of students, real product scale. The Product Intern works on 0→1 development and data-led scaling, with PPO on strong performance.
Tech stack: Figma, SQL, Mixpanel (familiarity a strong plus)
Skills needed: First-principles problem decomposition, genuine product curiosity, analytical mindset
Why you should apply:
“Live products used by millions” is accurate. Your decisions have real downstream impact.
PPO from a company this size is a meaningful full-time offer. The 3-month window is a real tryout.
The application asks how you think, not just your resume. Prepare accordingly.
12. Brand & Social Media Intern – AppsForBharat
Internship | Bangalore | 3–6 months
AppsForBharat builds spiritual and cultural apps for India. The Brand & Social Media Intern works on Instagram, creator culture, content ideation, storytelling, social trends, analytics, and Canva.
Skills needed: Instagram and creator culture understanding, content ideation, Canva, social analytics
Why you should apply:
AppsForBharat has real scale in an underserved niche — spiritual and cultural digital products for Bharat. Marketing here means reaching audiences most content people never think about.
Series C well funded startup.
13. Graphic Designer Intern / Copywriter – AppsForBharat
Internship | HSR Layout, Bangalore
Two more tracks from the same team — design and copy for spiritual and cultural digital products.
Graphic Designer Intern Skills needed: Social creatives, branding assets, visual storytelling, design for digital audiences Link
Copywriter Skills needed: Sharp, engaging, emotionally resonant copy for digital audiences Link
14. Social Media Intern – Palette Hire (Part-time)
Part-time | Bangalore (Hybrid) | Paid
Palette Hire is looking for a “fun, slightly unhinged college kid” to work on their socials. Instagram + LinkedIn, Canva, good internet taste. FAFO encouraged. Already creating content yourself is a bonus.
Skills needed: Instagram and LinkedIn understanding, Canva, taste, curiosity, creative hunger
Why you should apply:
“We’re ok if you want to FAFO” in a job post is rare and means they want someone who experiments rather than someone who plays it safe.
The hiring manager asks you to check their profile, their dead Instagram, and their dead LinkedIn before writing. Do it. The self-awareness is a good sign.
Part-time means you can run this alongside college or another role.
Email — shivanshi@palettehire.club
15. Product Management Intern – RapidClaims.ai
Internship | Bangalore | 3–6 months
RapidClaims is building AI for healthcare claims and billing automation. The PM Intern works with founders and cross-functional teams on live client workflows.
Why you should apply:
Healthcare claims automation is a genuinely complex and high-value space — billing errors cost the industry billions.
“Top colleges” preferred is a filter worth noting — if you’re from one, lead with it. If not, make your application speak for itself.
3–6 month range gives you flexibility depending on availability.
Email — hr@rapidclaims.ai
16. Product Management Intern – Vocallabs AI / Subspace
Internship | Fully Remote | ₹20,000–₹30,000/month | 3 months
Two companies, one PM intern role. The founder is honest upfront — you’ll work harder than you ever have, and learn more in 3 months than most people do in a year.
Skills needed: Product thinking, fast execution, high ownership
Why you should apply:
Working across two products simultaneously in a single internship is unusual exposure — you’ll see how product decisions differ by context.
The founder’s candour about the intensity is a green flag. They’re not overselling the lifestyle.
17. Product Management Intern – Eka.Care
Internship | Fully Remote | ₹25,000–₹30,000/month
Eka.Care is a health records and primary care platform. The PM Intern talks to customers, converts insights into product features, writes SQL queries, and collaborates with engineering. Application requires an AI project link and a 150-word explanation of your problem-solving process.
Tech stack: SQL, AI tools, product analytics Skills needed: Customer conversations, insight-to-feature translation, SQL, AI project experience
Why you should apply:
“Share proof of work including AI project link” is a filter that immediately narrows the pool to people who actually build things.
HealthTech PM at a platform used for real patient records means your product decisions have direct healthcare implications.
Remote at ₹25–30K is a fair deal for a PM internship with this scope.
Delhi / NCR
Tech Roles
18. Design Intern – Rumik (2 positions)
Internship | Delhi (In-person) | ₹50,000/month
Rumik keeps showing up in this newsletter and keeps offering the best perks. This time it’s design — stellar visual design, end-to-end polish, and the expectation that you’ll lead the product you design within 6 months.
Chef-prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.
Skills needed: Stellar visual design, end-to-end polish obsession, hunger to lead not just execute
Why you should apply:
They’ve said these perks across multiple hiring posts and it seems to be how they operate.
₹50K/month in Delhi for a design internship. Strong.
Two positions open. Better odds than a single-seat role.
Email — rohan@rumik.ai (with your best work)
19. Multiple Roles – Qvéy Athleisure (3 positions)
Internship | Delhi NCR | Stipend based on role
Qvéy is building functional athleisure for Indian women — launching soon. Three intern tracks open simultaneously.
Founder’s Office Intern Brand strategy, ops, partnerships, research, and building-from-scratch chaos.
Skills needed: Proactive, problem-solver, doesn’t wait to be told
Content Intern Reels, BTS, trends, scripting, founder-led content.
Skills needed: Storytelling obsession, internet culture fluency, Instagram depth, taste and speed
Supply Chain & Operations Intern Inventory, vendor coordination, dispatch, fulfilment, production follow-ups.
Skills needed: Structure, coordination, execution, making things actually work
Why you should apply (all three):
Pre-launch stage means you’re building the foundation, not maintaining someone else’s system. High visibility, real ownership.
Three very different skill sets — pick the one that fits and apply specifically. Generic applications will get filtered fast.
Stipend not disclosed per role. Ask before committing.
20. Founder’s Office Intern – Elda
Internship | Gurgaon | Stipend provided
Elda is building a concierge for modern aging. The Founder’s Office Intern is explicitly on-ground — closing the loop on doctor’s appointments, going to the bank when paperwork won’t move otherwise, driving to the house if that’s what it takes. No deck-making. No Slack-only work.
Skills needed: Figures things out without a playbook, doesn’t wait for instructions, treats customer experience like personal honour, ground-level executor
Why you should apply:
Elder care is a massive underserved market in India and almost no one is building for it seriously. Getting in at the ground floor is meaningful.
On-ground Gurgaon work means you’re seeing real problems with real seniors. That’s not something you can learn from a dashboard.
21. Founder’s Office Intern – Finroles
Internship | Gurgaon | 0–1 years
Finroles is a finance-focused hiring platform. The Founder’s Office Intern builds partnerships with manufacturing companies, finance firms, and startups — from cold outreach to signed mandates — and sources candidates on live briefs that directly impact revenue.
Skills needed: Slightly impatient, executes immediately after a meeting, numbers-driven, high ownership, unbothered by ambiguity
Why you should apply:
“Sit across from the founder and solve the problem together” is a more honest description of what Founder’s Office actually is than most posts manage.
Partnership building from cold outreach to signed mandates at 0–1 YOE is real commercial exposure.
The founder explicitly says DM for queries — low barrier to get a feel for the culture before applying.
22. City Growth Leader – Blinkit
Full-time | PAN India | High-agency operators
Blinkit is hiring City Growth Leaders across India to own a city like their own business — drive growth, lead large teams, solve hard operational problems, scale fast on the ground.
Skills needed: High agency, operational ownership, large team leadership comfort, fast execution
Why you should apply:
Owning a city’s P&L at Blinkit is one of the most high-stakes, high-learning operator roles in Indian consumer tech right now.
They recently filled the Jharkhand roles (Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad). Applications for those cities are likely closed. Better odds in other cities — target Tier 2 locations where competition is lower.
Email — cityhiring@blinkit.com | LinkedIn Post
23. Multiple Roles – Your Growth Labs
Full-time | Bangalore | 1+ year experience
Your Growth Labs manages ₹140Cr+ in annual qcom revenue for consumer brands doing 300Cr+ offline — Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart. Team of 6, hiring 4 more.
Business Head (3 positions) Own brand P&Ls, manage relationships, build the qcom playbook for large consumer brands.
Skills needed: Consultant, operator, or high-agency thinker-doer. 1+ year experience.
AI Generalist (1 position) Build workflows and automations that make business heads more efficient.
Skills needed: Extremely AI-native — using AI tools every day to do the work of 3 people.
Why you should apply:
₹140Cr+ in managed revenue at a 6-person team is one of the highest output-per-person ratios in Indian startup ops. The learning is compressed and intense.
Qcom is the fastest-growing distribution channel in Indian consumer. Owning brand growth here at this scale is a genuinely rare early career bet.
AI Generalist role is one of the more honest descriptions of this type of role.
Link | Email — raghav@yourgrowthlabs.in
Mumbai
Tech Roles
24. Software Engineer Intern – Cresco (Sri Lanka AgriTech)
Internship | Colombo or Remote | $200 USD/month | 3–6 months
Cresco is building technology for agriculture in Sri Lanka — IoT, mobile, dashboards, data pipelines. Small team, early stage, real problems. Still in university is fine. Converts to full-time SWE based on performance.
TBH, not sure if they are even hiring Indians. But we can try.
Tech stack: JS, Python, React, Node.js. IoT or AI/ML interest is a plus.
Why you should apply:
Working on AgriTech IoT infrastructure in an emerging market is a portfolio differentiator that most Indian startup internships can’t match.
25. Software Developer Intern (+PPO) – Expound Technivo
Internship | Andheri, Mumbai | Immediate joining
Expound Technivo is hiring a Software Developer Intern for live projects — designing, developing, testing, deploying, debugging, and code reviews.
Tech stack: Java / Python / JavaScript / C++, OOP, DSA, HTML, CSS, MySQL / MongoDB
Skills needed: Final year or recent grad (CS/IT), immediate availability, in-office Andheri
Why you should apply:
PPO conversion path with mentorship from experienced developers. Standard structure but honest about what it offers.
Immediate joining preferred — if you’re available now, that’s a real edge.
Andheri is well-connected in Mumbai. Not a commute nightmare from most parts of the city.
Email — anam.shaikh@expoundtechnivo.com
Non-Tech Roles
26. EIR – Equal Collective
Full-time | Fully Remote
Equal Collective is a 9-person, bootstrapped, profitable startup building AI agents that grow brands on Amazon. The EIR spots insights, builds the AI agent on top of it, and takes it to market. They go on retreats together.
Why you should apply:
Profitable and bootstrapped at 9 people building AI agents — that’s a company with real revenue discipline, not VC-funded growth theatre.
EIR at this stage means you’re defining what the product becomes. That’s a founding-team-level mandate at intern economics.
“We go on retreats together — work hard, then chill somewhere good.” Unverifiable but worth asking about in the interview.
JD: bit.ly/42UsfWI | Application: forms.gle/hNhvPqBtMHG5W98a9
Hyderabad
Tech Roles
27. Tech / Product Intern – Farminsta
Internship | Hyderabad
Farminsta is building platforms for healthcare and agri-tech — hospital and clinic management systems, farmer CRM, field automation tools, and influencer-led sales platforms. Interns work on live systems used by real businesses and end users.
Skills needed: Product or engineering fundamentals, interest in healthtech or agritech, real-problem orientation
Why you should apply:
Two sectors simultaneously means unusually broad domain exposure in a single internship.
“Not sample projects or mock assignments” is a direct promise. The work goes into production systems with actual users.
No stipend, role type, or tech stack mentioned. Ask all three before committing.
Remote / General
Tech Roles
28. Software Engineer – FutureFlow
Full-time | Remote
FutureFlow is building a financial intelligence platform to help individuals manage finances, reduce financial stress, and build long-term wealth. One software engineer opening for a scalable, user-focused product builder.
Skills needed: Startup excitement, product-impact orientation, scalable technology building, problem-solving
Why you should apply:
Personal finance infrastructure is a space with genuine user impact. If that mission connects with you, the work has meaning beyond the code.
Single opening means fast, direct hiring process — less committee, more founder involvement.
No compensation or tech stack shared. Ask both upfront.
Email — shiv@joinfutureflow.com
29. Software Engineer Intern – DiligenceVault
Internship | Fully Remote | ₹20,000–₹25,000/month | 6 months | PPO | 2026 grads only
DiligenceVault is a due diligence platform with 100,000+ users across 150 countries. The intern evaluates libraries and tools, builds PoCs in Python and SQL, and converts them into working modules.
Tech stack: Python, SQL, AI/ML concepts (preferred)
Skills needed: Prior internship experience (strongly preferred), strong Python and SQL, solid DSA. CS only, minimum 7.5 CGPA, no active backlogs.
Why you should apply:
100,000+ users across 150 countries is real global infrastructure scale for a due diligence platform.
PPO post degree completion — structured transition to full-time after graduation.
Hard eligibility bar (7.5 CGPA, no backlogs, CS only, 2026 batch) means the pool is smaller than it looks.
30. AI Intern – Windfall Research
Internship | Remote | 2027 batch | CGPA 9.0+ | Top institutes prioritised
Windfall Research is an HFT firm hiring an AI intern to build and improve AI models and agents for trading infrastructure and strategies. Work with experienced HFT founders, developers, AI researchers, and traders.
HFT might be the only career in tech paying more than actual SDE jobs.
Skills needed: Strong CS and Mathematics degree, CGPA 9.0+, prior internship in AI/ML, Quant, SWE, or Product. 2027 graduating students only.
Why you should apply:
HFT + AI model building is one of the most technically demanding and financially rewarding intersections in engineering. Getting inside it at intern stage is rare.
PPO path for strong performers into a firm that doesn’t hire often.
The bar is explicit and high — CGPA 9.0+, top institute priority. If you meet it, apply immediately.
Email — talent@windfall.capital
31. Flutter Developer / Junior SWE – DafoTalk
Full-time + Internship | Fully Remote
DafoTalk is building technology around meaningful interaction and real-world human experiences. Hiring a Junior Software Developer (Flutter/Dart preferred) and a Flutter Developer Intern.
Tech stack: Flutter, Dart
Skills needed: Flutter and Dart basics, curiosity, consistency, problem-solving through unfamiliar territory
Why you should apply:
⚠️ Caution: DafoTalk appears to be an extremely early-stage company with limited public presence. Do thorough research before engaging — check the founders’ LinkedIn profiles, ask about funding, team size, and what’s actually been built. This is not a reason to skip, but a reason to verify.
Flutter roles are less common than React Native in Indian startup hiring — if you have the skill, competition is lower.
Remote with genuine early-stage ownership if the company is legitimate.
Email — hello@dafotalk.com
Non-Tech Roles
32. VC Fellowship – The VC Fellowship by HireVC 🌟 Special Opportunity
Fellowship | Remote | 3 months
This is not a job or internship. It’s a fellowship.
The VC Fellowship is a 3-month structured program for people who want real exposure to Venture Capital, Angel Networks, and Private Equity — live mentorship from industry professionals, hands-on projects, and opportunities to work with leading VCs and PE firms.
Why this is worth your time:
VC is a space many people want to enter but don’t know how to access. This is one of the few structured entry points that doesn’t require a pre-existing network or an MBA.
Live projects with actual VC firms — not simulated case studies.
If you’re curious about startups, investing, or the ecosystem behind high-growth companies, 3 months here is a more efficient investment than most internships.
If you’ve been reading The First Pass regularly and want to be more involved, I’m putting together a small core group. Max 5–6 people who prevalidate issues before they go out, share opportunities, and give honest feedback on quality (and what readers want).
This isn’t open to everyone. Only if you actually read and use TFP issues.
If that’s you, email me at sourjesh.substack@gmail.com with one suggestion you have for me :) I read everything, so you will 100% get a reply.