Founder's Intern - Special Projects

ROLE: FOUNDER’S INTERN – SPECIAL PROJECTS LOCATION: CHENNAI With campuses in Austin and Chennai, Illumine Industries Pvt. Ltd. (Illumine-i) is a young multinational firm engineering sustainable living solutions. We are a team of engineers and creative thinkers, working towards the development of renewable power plants, energy-efficient buildings with competent construction methodologies, clean transportation, and high-potent agriculture & manufacturing technologies. You can learn more about us at: https://www.illuminei.com/lyf The Big Picture Founders rarely have the luxury of focusing on just one thing. At Illumine-i, our founder works across strategy, sales, delivery, product, engineering services, software, hardware sourcing, and new business initiatives. As a Founder’s Intern - Special Projects, you’ll work closely with him on the research, coordination, follow-ups, and problem-solving that keep these different threads moving. No two weeks will look exactly the same. You could be researching a new market one day, preparing for an important conversation the next, and helping track a project that needs to move forward the day after. The role is designed to give you both breadth and ownership - while you’ll support a range of priorities, you’ll also take ownership of 1–2 specific areas where you can build deeper expertise over time. What you can expect as a Founder’s Intern at Illumine-i: Research & Insights: Conduct research on competitors, vendors, markets, technologies, and other topics based on the priorities of the week Meeting Support: Help prepare context and information before important meetings and track action items and follow-ups afterward Project Coordination: Keep track of open tasks, timelines, follow-ups, and dependencies across different initiatives Content & Documentation: Create first drafts of summaries, one-pagers, outreach material, presentations, and other documents for review and refinement Founder Support: Assist with day-to-day coordination, follow-ups, and other high-priority tasks that help move projects forward Owned Projects: Take ownership of 1–2 assigned areas, building deeper knowledge and becoming the go-to person for those specific threads Problem Solving: Step into whatever is blocking progress and help find information, coordinate people, or move the task towards completion Essential Qualifications include: Currently pursuing or recently completed an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in any relevant discipline Strong research, analytical, and problem-solving abilities Excellent written and verbal communication skills Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities Comfortable working independently and taking ownership without constant supervision Ability to quickly understand new topics and switch between different types of work Curiosity about startups, businesses, technology, and how companies are built Great to have: Prior experience in internships involving research, strategy, business development, operations, or special projects Comfort working with spreadsheets, presentations, and productivity tools Interest in startups, entrepreneurship, technology, or emerging businesses Ability to understand technical or engineering-related information and simplify it when needed Strong interpersonal skills and a bias towards getting things done This internship is an opportunity to work close to the action and understand how different parts of a growing business come together. If you enjoy figuring things out, asking good questions, taking ownership, and learning across functions rather than staying inside one box, this role could be a great fit.