About EcosAtlas
EcosAtlas is a Laramie-based technology company building a source-linked industrial data and business intelligence platform. We help manufacturing-support organizations, economic-development teams, sourcing professionals, and industrial companies identify U.S. manufacturers and facilities, understand their capabilities and certifications, connect suppliers to opportunities, and follow important changes over time. We combine public records, web evidence, organization-contributed information, and appropriately licensed data into living business and facility profiles. As an early-stage company, EcosAtlas gives this intern direct access to the founder and a clear view of how research informs product and business decisions.
The role
Industrial and business data is scattered across government agencies, public-records systems, associations, nonprofits, certification bodies, and commercial providers. Some sources are easy to download. Others require several calls, a carefully written records request, a vendor conversation, or persistent follow-up to determine whether the data exists.
You will investigate those sources quickly and thoroughly. For each promising source, you will determine what it contains, who controls it, how it can be accessed, how often it changes, what it costs, what restrictions apply, and how EcosAtlas could obtain it again later. You will move across many active research threads rather than spending the full internship on one dataset.
This is an investigative research role, not a software-engineering internship or a sales position. Coding is optional. The core work is professional outreach, records requests, source evaluation, clear documentation, and persistent follow-through.
What you will do
Find and investigate sources
- Search across federal, state, county, municipal, nonprofit, association, certification, and commercial sources.
- Investigate business licenses, permits, registrations, supplier and vendor directories, certification records, contracting data, association lists, and other evidence of who a company is and what it can do.
- Take on fast-turnaround research requests tied to specific U.S. regions, industries, certifications, supplier needs, or data gaps.
Contact the people who control the data
- Call and email agencies, records custodians, associations, nonprofits, certification organizations, researchers, and data vendors.
- Draft, submit, and track federal FOIA requests and state or local public-records requests.
- Request samples, field lists, data dictionaries, record counts, geographic and historical coverage, update schedules, pricing, licensing terms, and access conditions.
Turn findings into a repeatable process
- Create proof-of-data summaries that show what a source actually contains, not just where a link was found.
- Document acquisition procedures so another person can obtain the same source without starting from scratch.
- Maintain an organized source catalog, contact history, records-request tracker, follow-up schedule, and status for each investigation.
- Research lower-cost private datasets and data held by nonprofits, associations, and industry organizations when those sources may add unique value.
What a strong result looks like
- Each useful source reaches a clear status: obtainable, request pending, purchasable, restricted, duplicative, unavailable, or not worth pursuing.
- The source record explains available fields, coverage, freshness, cost, restrictions, contacts, and exact next steps.
- The work includes evidence such as a sample, data dictionary, field list, representative record, or written confirmation from the source owner.
- Calls, emails, requests, follow-ups, and decisions are documented clearly enough that another person can continue the work.
- Multiple investigations keep moving without lost details or missed follow-up dates.
What you will learn
- Investigative business and industrial research
- Federal FOIA and state or local public-records processes
- Professional phone and email communication with government and private organizations
- Data provenance, source credibility, access conditions, and documentation
- How industrial, manufacturing, certification, contracting, and business information is created and maintained
- How an early-stage data company evaluates potential sources before technical integration or licensing
- How to manage multiple open-ended research projects and present clear findings
Who we are looking for
Persistent
You are willing to follow a trail through several offices, websites, phone calls, and unanswered emails.
Comfortable speaking with people
You can make professional calls, ask clear questions, and follow up without being discouraged.
Organized
You keep accurate notes, dates, contacts, source evidence, and next steps.
Curious and resourceful
When there is no obvious path, you look for another lawful and reasonable way to answer the question.
A clear writer
You can distinguish what is confirmed, what remains uncertain, and what another person should do next.
Comfortable with structured information
You understand spreadsheets, rows, fields, tables, CSV files, and common document formats.
Independent and communicative
You can work independently and know when an investigation needs help or a decision.
Relevant backgrounds
Major matters less than the way you work. Relevant fields may include business, economics, political science, public administration, communication or journalism, geography or GIS, supply chain, history, sociology, applied computing, data analytics, or another research-intensive field.
We are especially interested in University of Wyoming and other Wyoming students who can participate regularly in person in Laramie, but qualified applicants from other backgrounds are welcome.
Helpful, but not required
- Experience with public records, government agencies, libraries, archives, journalism, research assistance, GIS, market research, or data vendors
- Interest in manufacturing, supply chains, economic development, certifications, or U.S. industry
- Light Python, web scraping, or data-analysis experience; coding is optional and not a core responsibility
How to apply
Use the application form below or email the same materials to hello@ecosatlas.com with the subject “Industrial Data Research Intern”. A formal cover letter is not required.
- Your résumé as a PDF
- A 150-300 word response to the research prompt
- Your current school and program, or the career area you are exploring
- Your expected weekly availability
- Optional: a cover letter
- Optional: one writing, research, spreadsheet, or process-documentation sample
Equal opportunity
LaunchNav LLC DBA EcosAtlas is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law. Reasonable accommodations are available during the application process.