Year-Round Intern - Cloud Engineering

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC); Illinois; Hybrid; USD 28,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) in Chicago offers a year‑round internship in Cloud Engineering. Interns work up to 20 hours per week during the school year and up to 40 hours in summer, in a hybrid environment with anchor days in the office.

You will help build and enhance cloud security guardrails, Open Policy Agent (OPA) policies, and FinOps dashboards, gaining real experience in automation, security, and cost management within a regulated financial services setting.

Qualifications

• Cloud platforms experience with AWS is preferred.
• Proficiency in Python scripting.
• Familiarity with policy-as-code concepts and Terraform/IaC.
• Experience with Claude code is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Build and enhance cloud security guardrails.
• Develop Open Policy Agent (OPA) policies.
• Assist with FinOps dashboards and cost reporting.
• Collaborate on automation for monitoring and remediation.

Skills

AWS

Python

Policy-as-code

Claude code

FinOps

Tools

Terraform

OPA

Job description

Location: Chicago

Internship type: Year-round intern (1,000 hours max, January 2027–December 2027)

Hybrid Work Program

OCC operates under a Hybrid Work Program which, absent an approved exception, requires employees to work from an OCC office at least 3 days per week. To maximize in–person collaboration, Tuesday and Wednesday are considered anchor days, and all employees are expected to work in the office both days. Employees meeting performance expectations are generally permitted to select 2 other days per week to work remotely if desired. When working remotely, employees are generally expected to work from the state in which they reside, absent an exception approved by Human Resources. Additionally, OCC generally does not permit employees to work while traveling internationally.

About OCC

A World Class Clearing Organization

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, OCC is dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. OCC has more than 100 clearing members and provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 21 exchanges and trading platforms.

OCC also provides free and engaging educational resources about the benefits and risks of options through its Options Industry Council (OIC).

OCC is building a culture that empowers continued learning, authentic innovation, and constant creativity.

About the Intern Program

OCC is looking for interns who are eager to learn, humble enough to ask questions, and ready to think critically about complex problems. The OCC Internship Program equips students with the real-world skills needed to transition successfully into a career in financial services. As an intern, you will contribute to meaningful projects, applying your skills and knowledge to real challenges facing the business. Your time with us is a real opportunity to make a genuine impact on the future of OCC!

OCC's Year‑Round Internship Program is a 12‑month opportunity running from January through December and is open to both undergraduate and graduate students who are actively enrolled at a college or university. Interns work up to 20 hours per week during the school year and up to 40 hours per week during the summer, subject to a 1,000‑hour cap. The role is based in a hybrid work environment, and overtime is not permitted.

About The Team & Role

The Cloud Engineering team owns Platform Engineering Team security guardrails, governance controls, and cost optimization (FinOps) across the AWS platform. We build and maintain policy-as-code, IAM/permission boundaries, cost anomaly detection, and tagging/chargeback tooling. The intern will support automation of security and cost controls, contributing to tools used org‑wide.

Job Summary & Responsibilities

Intern will build/enhance platform engineering cloud security guardrails, as well as build and enhance Open Policy Agent (OPA) policies for security guardrail checks and for standards. Also, Financial Operations dashboarding and reporting, and automation for cleanup and alerting to help with cloud cost avoidance and reduction. Working alongside the team on real backlog items, responsibilities map directly to ownership of monitoring and remediation tooling.

Candidate Qualifications

Rising senior or second‑year graduate student, graduating December 2027 or May/August 2028.

Desired Majors

• Computer Science Information Systems, or related

Technical Skills/Experience Desired

• Coursework or project experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred), exposure to scripting (Python), and familiarity with basic security or cost management concepts. Exposure to Terraform/IaC or policy-as-code tools a plus.
• Experience with Claude code a plus as it is used in daily work.

Additional Qualifications

• Strong analytical skills, comfort with ambiguity, interest in cloud security or FinOps as a career, and interested in developing automation to solve problems

About Us

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, OCC is dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. OCC has more than 100 clearing members and provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 19 exchanges and trading platforms. More information about OCC is available at www.theocc.com.

Compensation

• The salary range listed for any given position is exclusive of fringe benefits and potential bonuses. If hired at OCC, your final base salary compensation will be determined by factors such as skills, experience and/or education.
• In addition, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as part of any final offer.
• We typically do not hire at the maximum of the range in order to allow for future and continued salary growth. We also offer a substantial benefits package as noted on www.theocc.com/careers
• All employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus. Discretionary bonuses are based on various factors, including, but not limited to, company and individual performance and are not guaranteed.

Salary Range

$25.00 - $25.00

Incentive Range

This position is eligible for an annual discretionary incentive compensation award, for which the target range is listed above (see Incentive Range). The amount of such award, if any, will be based on various factors, including without limitation, both individual and company performance.

OCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer