Operational Readiness, Activation, and Transition (ORAT) College Intern (6 Months)

Who We Are

The Denver International Airport (DEN) Design, Engineering, and Construction (DEC) division is actively seeking an Operational Readiness, Activation, and Transition (ORAT) DENtern to contribute to their division. As part of DEN's Strategic Plan, Vision 100, which envisions reaching 100 million annual passengers, DEC plays a pivotal role in transforming the aviation industry. The ORAT section serves a critical role in the future of DEN, serving as a liaison between the project team and other divisions to ensure the operational needs of a project are met on day one. This ensure the seamless transition from construction to function after a project is completed. The ORAT program is new to DEN, so the selected intern will have a unique opportunity to help build out the program for the future.

What We Offer

The City and County of Denver offers a competitive pay rate to commensurate with education. The salary range for this position is $20.92-23.64/hour, based on education. Denver International Airport emerging talent positions are required to attend all sessions of professional development within the cohort model. You will be onboarded with a cohort of peers to begin to help you develop your network across the aviation industry.

As an intern you will get to experience working on projects such as:

Checklist Development

Work with stakeholders throughout DEN to develop operational readiness checklists for individual section needs and larger initiatives.

PM/Stakeholder Meetings

Facilitate regular meetings with Project Managers and stakeholders to get project updates.

Owner, Operator, Maintainer, User (OOMU) Database

Work with Business Technologies and stakeholders to collect and consolidate information to fully develop the OOMU database

Stakeholder Engagement for Projects

Identify the full extent of operational impact per project, identify potential overlap, ways to consolidate impacted spaces/schedules, mitigate potential risk, and help break the silos of communication between groups/divisions.

Operational Impact Discussions and Contingency Planning

Facilitate discussions on how a project poses operational impacts to stakeholders and the traveling public. Develop contingency plans to mitigate those risks through facilitated discussions, stakeholder input, and project management input.

Ideal Candidate Summary

What You’ll Bring

Our ideal candidate has some or all the following interests, characteristics, and skills:

Interest in tactical problem solving to address unforeseen challenges.

Interest in seeing how new infrastructure is designed and constructed.

Interest in hands-on learning from operations and maintenance and how they tie into construction.

Interest in working with a variety of stakeholders from on-scene operational to executive level professionals.

Pursuing degree in Airport Operations, Aviation Management, Organizational Leadership/Development, Emergency Management, Business Administration, Project Management, Civil Engineering, Theater, or Hospitality Management.

Desired Skill Set:

Effective Communications (written and oral): Writing and open communication skills for expressing concepts and results; ability to facilitate multi-level information collection discussions and communicate complex issues findings clearly and concisely to different audiences.

Interpersonal: Verbal and nonverbal communication, the ability to handle conflict, teamwork, empathy, listening, and a positive attitude.

Creativity and Innovation: Thinking outside the box and coming up with new and unique concepts and solutions. Someone who takes those creative ideas and turns them into practical and valuable outcomes.

Adaptability: Ability to adapt to sudden changes in schedules or to unforeseen circumstances.

Presentation Skills: Ability to collect information, develop a presentation, and present it to various levels of leadership clearly and confidently.

Project Management: Understanding of project management concepts and how they fit together with the end goal of operational readiness.

Minimum Qualifications

Education Requirement:  Current enrollment in an accredited college program leading to a certificate, licensure, associates, bachelor’s, or higher degree in, or a recent graduate (completed specified program within 1 year of completion). 

This position is open to students currently enrolled in an accredited college program leading to a certificate, licensure, associates, bachelors, higher degree in, or up to one year post college graduation

Experience: None 

Education and Experience Equivalency: No substitution of experience for education is permitted. 

Mandatory documentation required to be considered for this position:

Resume (with most current information)

Transcripts – either official or unofficial; dated within your current academic term. This is only used to verify amounts of credits; grades will not influence decision.

Optional Documents

Cover letter detailing why you are interested in this position.

Location Flexibility

The City and County of Denver supports a hybrid workplace model with a required 3 days in office. Employees work where needed to support business, at the Denver International Airport. We do not offer housing or relocation assistance for this position.

Internship Duration and Hours:

This is a 6 month internship with a completion date of Friday, December 5, 2025, with typical hours not exceeding 39 hours a week.

Application Deadline:

This posting will accept applications from February 10th to February 22nd, 2025, at midnight.

Position Type

Oncall

The City and County of Denver provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or any other status protected under federal, state, and/or local law. 

FBI Background Check: FBI criminal background check is required for all positions at Denver International Airport (DEN). Employees are also required to report any felony convictions and/or moving violations to maintain this clearance and be eligible for continued employment. By position, a pre-employment physical/drug test may be required.

For information about right to work, click here for English or here for Spanish.

About Everything Else

Job Profile

TA3182 Professional Technical Intern

To view the full job profile including position specifications, physical demands, and probationary period, click here.

Position Type

Oncall

Position Salary Range

$20.92 - $23.64

Starting Pay

$20.92-23.64/hour, based on education

Agency

Denver International Airport

The City and County of Denver provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or any other status protected under federal, state, and/or local law. 

It is your right to access oral or written language assistance, sign language interpretation, real-time captioning via CART, or disability-related accommodations. To request any of these services at no cost to you, please contact Jobs@Denvergov.org with three business days’ notice.

Applicants for employment with the City and County of Denver must have valid work authorization that does not require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the U.S.

For information about right to work, click here for English or here for Spanish.