Cybersecurity R&D Engineer Intern — Vulnerability Research

Penn State University; Reston (VA); Hybrid; USD 22,041 - 30,307; Full time

Job summary

Penn State University’s Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) invites an undergraduate student to join the Cyberspace Operations Research Department as a paid internship. You will research adversarial TTPs to support security hardening and conduct vulnerability assessments for sponsors.

Work up to 20 hours per week during fall and spring, and up to 40 hours per week in summer. Location is on-site in State College, PA, or Reston, VA with hybrid options based on project needs.

Qualifications

• Familiarity with basic system vulnerability concepts and exploitation basics.
• Proficiency in Linux-based environments and scripting languages.
• Experience with C and Python programming and scripting (bash/PowerShell).
• Strong written and verbal communication and teamwork abilities.

Responsibilities

• Research vulnerability detection and basic exploitation techniques.
• Develop scripts and apps to automate processes.
• Design experiments and set up test environments.
• Collect and report experimental data from demonstrations.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams on engineering challenges.

Skills

Vulnerability concepts

Linux familiarity

Programming (C, Python)

Scripting (bash, PowerShell)

MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Willingness to learn

Job description

Penn State University’s Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) invites an undergraduate student to join the Cyberspace Operations Research Department as a paid internship. You will research adversarial TTPs to support security hardening and conduct vulnerability assessments for sponsors.

Work up to 20 hours per week during fall and spring, and up to 40 hours per week in summer. Location is on-site in State College, PA, or Reston, VA with hybrid options based on project needs.