Start your career in AI, right here in Southwark.
Acorn Labs is a Southwark AI incubator building several products at once — a coaching marketplace, an 11+ tutor for children, an autonomous hiring pipeline, an AI assessment platform and more. We're opening permanent trainee jobs and paid internships for local people — no experience needed, we train you — in partnership with Southwark Works.
We hire for curiosity and grit, then train you on the job.
Real work, real pay, real mentorship from senior people.
We welcome applicants who face barriers to work. Tell us what you need.
/ Permanent trainee jobs
First jobs in tech, with room to grow.
Permanent roles — no experience needed. You'll learn the craft here and grow as the studio and its products grow.
Marketing Assistant
Learn to market real AI products — writing posts, building simple web pages and helping get an 11+ tutor, a coaching marketplace and more in front of the right people. No experience needed.
Customer Success Assistant
Learn to be the friendly, helpful human behind AI products — answering questions, helping new customers get started, and making sure people have a good experience. No experience needed.
/ Internships & apprenticeships
Placements across the whole lifecycle.
Three seats, one for each stage of the work — ideation, prototyping, launch and operations.
AI Prototyping Intern
Turn half-formed ideas into working software. You'll pair with our engineers to spike agents, workflows and model-backed features that people can actually use.
AI Product & Research Intern
Find the shape of the problem before we build. You'll talk to users, gather what they need and help decide what's worth making.
AI Operations & Delivery Intern
Keep things shipping and running. You'll help launch products, check they behave, and keep the studio's day-to-day moving.
/ How to apply
A conversation, not a hoop-jumping exercise.
Say hello
Email us telling us which role caught your eye. A CV helps, but a few honest lines about you is a fine start. Applying for an internship? Your Southwark Works adviser can put you forward.
Have a chat
We meet for a relaxed conversation — in person in SE1 or on a call. We want to understand how you think, not catch you out.
Start building
If it's a fit, you join the studio. Everyone gets a real onboarding and someone in their corner from day one.
/ Ready when you are
Curious? That's
the hardest part done.
Send us a note telling us which role caught your eye and why. If you're already working with Southwark Works, mention your adviser and we'll take it from there.