Intern, R&D Graduate Summer - TITANS - Center for Cyber Defenders (CCD), Minnesota, Onsite

Sandia National Laboratories; Minnesota; On-site; USD 52,000 - 67,000; Full time

Job summary

Sandia National Laboratories’ TITANS Cybersecurity internship program at the Minnesota site invites graduate students to work on real-world cyber security challenges. You’ll engage in reverse engineering, vulnerability assessment, intrusion detection, and cryptography while applying foundations in math, analytics, and software/hardware engineering.

You’ll join a hands-on, research-oriented team focusing on security across systems, AI security, and SCADA environments.

Qualifications

• Earned bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
• Currently enrolled full-time in a spring term prior to internship or scheduled to graduate in spring.
• Minimum GPA of 3.0/4.0.

Responsibilities

• Reverse engineering, vulnerability assessment, and malware analysis.
• Intrusion prevention/detection and response; penetration testing and forensics.
• Network operation and information protection.

Skills

Cybersecurity Fundamentals

Secure software

Data analytics

Education

Bachelor's degree

Pursuing Masters/PhD in CS/CE/EE

Job description

We are seeking graduate students highly motivated with a passion for building secure digital information systems and applications to join our R&D graduate Interns in the TITANS Cybersecurity team for Summer 2027 at Sandia's Minnesota site. Qualified candidates will be part of a larger family, namely Technical Internships to Advance National Security (TITANS), which focuses solely on Cybersecurity, Software, and Math Analytics.

TITANS Cybersecurity (also known as the Center for Cyber Defenders or CCD) is seeking students who want to have a career in cybersecurity. We are focused on developing the next generation of experts in the field of computer security from the software stack down to microelectronic hardware components. You will use your foundational computer science/engineering, electrical engineering, math, analytics, and data science skills, but your work will be directed to cybersecurity topics.

Your job could consist of:

Reverse engineering, vulnerability assessment, and malware analysis

Intrusion prevention/detection and response, penetration testing, and forensics

Network operation, information protection, and resiliency

Authentication and authorization

Cryptography

Virtualization (system and network) and cloud technologies

Mobile devices and smart technologies

We are also looking for candidates interested in:

Data science, information theory, and streaming and behavioral analytics

Modeling, simulation, and emulation

Hardware/software trust and assurance

Industrial control systems and SCADA systems

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI Security

Your projects will be real-world cybersecurity problems or software, hardware, or embedded engineering challenges contributing to a cybersecurity challenge or mission space affecting national security. There's no busy work in the CCD! Your solution will exercise foundational math and analytic techniques and best practices in SW or HW engineering to help improve the cybersecurity of our nation.

Salary Range:

At Sandia, we value the important work done by our interns and its contribution to National Security. Because of this, our interns earn competitive pay rates. Our pay structure is based on earned credit hours, classification, and degree level. Your pay rate will be determined during the hire process and included in your offer package. You can view the Intern Pay Rate chart here (https://www.sandia.gov/app/uploads/sites/51/2024/12/Student-Rate-Sheet-2025.docx) .

Qualifications We Require:

You bring the confidence and skills to be eligible for the job by meeting these minimum requirements:

Earned bachelor's degree

Currently attending and enrolled full time in the spring term immediately preceding the internship (or scheduled to graduate in the spring) in an accredited science, engineering, or math graduate program

Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0

Ability to work up to 40 hours per week during the summer

Ability to secure and maintain a U.S. security clearance which requires U.S. citizenship

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite

Note: If you have not yet started your graduate program, please apply to an undergraduate intern position.

Qualifications We Desire:

Pursuing a masters degree or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Cybersecurity Mathematics or equivalent STEM field

Working knowledge and understanding of an engineering or science related field, such as Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Cybersecurity Mathematics or other relevant STEM Disciplines

Scholarship for Service Recipient

Ability to obtain and retain a DOE Q and SCI Clearance

Currently enrolled in the University of Minnesota System (applicants from other universities are also eligible)

Posting Duration:

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of three (3) calendar days, including the 'posting date'. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

About Our Team:

The Center for Cyber Defenders (CCD) provides computer science interns with practical experience in computer systems, network operations, and information protection. Our summer program combines research with education, allowing interns to perform experiments on attacking and defending computer systems with proper guidance and protective measures in place.

Working at Sandia¿s Minnesota site offers an outstanding opportunity to live in the mid-west while contributing to the national security mission. The Applied Cybersecurity Research Department develops and applies new information technologies to help our national security and critical infrastructure protection customers establish information superiority. We work across the technology spectrum, including embedded, mobile, desktop, wireless, enterprise.

About Sandia:

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation¿s premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide

Extraordinary co-workers

Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world

Career advancement and enrichment opportunities

Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)

Generous vacation, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: http://www.sandia.gov

*These benefits vary by job classification.

Security Clearance:

Sandia is required by DOE to conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Applicants for employment need to be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance and SCI access, both of which require US citizenship. SCI access may also require a polygraph examination. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain these levels of access may be impacted.

Applicants offered employment with Sandia are subject to a federal background investigation to meet the requirements for access to classified information or matter if the duties of the position require a DOE security clearance. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause a clearance to be denied or terminated by the DOE, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment.

EEO:

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.

NNSA Requirements for MedPEDs:

If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug-releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs.

If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on-site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date.