Cyber Defense Engineer, Critical Infrastructure (Hybrid Internship)

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab; Laurel (MD); Hybrid; USD 32,000 - 66,000; Part time

Job summary

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is seeking dedicated Cybersecurity Interns in Laurel, MD. You will collaborate with sponsors, contribute to interdisciplinary teams, and develop PoCs for cyber-physical resilience across critical infrastructure.

As part of a high-performing hybrid group, you will conduct R&D to advance state-of-the-art cyber-physical systems—self-aware, self-healed, and self-optimized—and gain hands-on experience with tools like virtualization, SIEMs, and container

Qualifications

• Pursuing a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Electrical & Computer Engineering.
• 3.0 GPA or above on a 4.0 scale.
• Intermediate skills and experience with scripting languages (Python, shell, etc.), Linux (command line).
• Knowledge of IP networking, virtualization, Software Defined Networking (SDN), and Industrial Control Systems (ICS) protocols.
• Some experience with version control system, (preferably Git - including branching, pull‑requests, and basic conflict resolution).
• To access APL’s facilities and networks, U.S. citizenship status is required, subject to applicable laws

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with sponsors to understand their missions and what it means to be successful
• Contribute to interdisciplinary teams designing and engineering cutting edge resilience solutions for cyber-physical systems.
• Develop proof-of-concepts and prototypes of novel control systems and technologies
• Conduct independent research and development to advance state of the art for cyber-physical systems to be self-aware, self-organized, self-healed, and self-optimized. Key research areas include virtualization, machine-to-machine trust, autonomic decision making.
• Reverse engineer control system network protocols
• Analyze control system hardware for cyber hardening
• Engage in red teaming exercises and adversary emulation
• Design, integrate, test and scale-up end-to-end cyber situational awareness capabilities
• Test cyber solutions on in-house hardware testbeds representing Critical infrastructure sectors

Skills

Python

Shell scripting

Linux

IP networking

Virtualization

SDN

ICS protocols

Git

Education

Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Cybersecurity/CS/CE/EE

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

OpenShift

Git

Job description

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is seeking dedicated Cybersecurity Interns in Laurel, MD. You will collaborate with sponsors, contribute to interdisciplinary teams, and develop PoCs for cyber-physical resilience across critical infrastructure.

As part of a high-performing hybrid group, you will conduct R&D to advance state-of-the-art cyber-physical systems—self-aware, self-healed, and self-optimized—and gain hands-on experience with tools like virtualization, SIEMs, and container