Backend Engineering Intern - OCaml

Ahrefs is looking for backend engineering interns with a strong interest in OCaml to join our team at our headquarters in Singapore (we may consider remote internships for exceptional candidates). Preference will be given to students in their final years of study, and we can accommodate internships as short as 2-3 months, adjusting work schedules to fit academic commitments. duration, start dates etc. can be tailored to your requirements. 

About the Team

At Ahrefs, OCaml is our primary language for backend development, powering everything from large-scale web crawlers to distributed data processing pipelines and real-time search infrastructure. Our team actively contributes to the OCaml ecosystem, including the core compiler and surrounding infrastructure, and we open-source some of our projects on GitHub. Ahrefs is also a member of the OCaml Software Foundation and a proud sponsor of many functional programming conferences.

What You’ll Work On

As an intern, you will:

• Write production-level OCaml code to solve real-world engineering challenges.

• Work on large-scale systems, ranging from internet-scale crawling to distributed data storage and processing.

• Optimise and maintain OCaml-based services, ensuring efficiency, reliability, and scalability.

• Collaborate with experienced OCaml engineers, receiving one-on-one mentorship and regular code reviews.

• Contribute to open-source projects and potentially make upstream contributions to the OCaml compiler or ecosystem.

What We Look For

• Strong interest in functional programming and OCaml.

• Familiarity with algorithms, data structures, and distributed systems.

• Experience with systems programming, network protocols, or databases is a plus.

• Enthusiasm for learning and working in a fast-paced, engineering-driven environment.

• Experience with ReasonML or C++ is a plus, though OCaml will be your primary language.

Why Join Us?

• Hands-on experience in real-world OCaml development at one of the most prominent companies using OCaml at scale. You won't find this type of opportunity anywhere else. 

• A chance to work on high-impact projects that power Ahrefs' industry-leading SEO tools and search infrastructure.

• Close mentorship and feedback from highly experienced engineers.

• The opportunity to contribute to open-source OCaml projects and potentially influence the language’s ecosystem.

If you are passionate about functional programming and OCaml and want to apply your skills to real-world engineering problems, we’d love to hear from you!