Classified Cybersecurity/IT Internship (Summer 2027)

The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory•Cambridge, MA

16h•Hybrid

About The Position

Draper is an independent, nonprofit research and development company headquartered in Cambridge, MA. The 2,000+ employees of Draper tackle important national challenges with a promise of delivering successful and usable solutions. From military defense and space exploration to biomedical engineering, lives often depend on the solutions we provide. Our multidisciplinary teams of engineers and scientists work in a collaborative environment that inspires the cross-fertilization of ideas necessary for true innovation. The Classified Cybersecurity & IT Intern will support the ISSO, System Administrators, ISSE, COMSEC, ISSM, and Classified Enterprise Team in maintaining security, compliance, and lifecycle management of classified information systems. Responsibilities include assisting with change management documentation, reconciling entry/exit logs and hardware baseline lists, updating software baselines and system diagrams, and contributing to audits, continuous monitoring, and incident response activities using tools such as STIG, SCAP, Splunk, Trellix, and Nessus. Additional duties encompass policy and procedure review, security impact assessment research, automation script development, patch testing, metrics gathering, and support for governance projects and termination checklists. The role provides hands-on mentorship, exposure to government grade security frameworks, and opportunities to enhance automation and analytical capabilities in a highly regulated environment. Eligibility for a security clearance and a strong commitment to confidentiality are required.

Requirements

Must be enrolled in an accredited bachelor’s / master’s degree program.
Must be a U.S. citizen.
Eligibility for a security clearance.
Strong computer skills including MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Excellent work ethic with the ability to work independently or in a team environment.
Ability to adapt to ever-changing environments, risks, and vulnerabilities.
Must be enrolled in an accredited bachelor’s / master’s degree program in Cybersecurity, Information Assurance, Computer Engineering, National Security Studies, IT, Computer Science, or related fields.

Responsibilities

Co-op will rotate working between multiple groups within Department to ensure a base knowledge set is experienced for comprehensive professional development.
Provide assistance to a team, including, but not limited to, clerical duties, processing paperwork, customer service or performing data entry.
Performs other duties as assigned.
Assists the ISSOs, ISSEs, COMSEC, ISSM, System Administrators, and the Classified Enterprise Team in meeting their duties and responsibilities.
Assists with system lifecycle management.
Completes required technical and security training (e.g., operating system, networking, security management) relative to assigned duties.
Assists with periodic reviews of information systems to ensure compliance with the security authorization package.
Assists with any changes or modifications to hardware, software, or firmware of a system with the ISSO, SA, and ISSM prior to the change.
Assists system recovery processes to ensure security features and procedures are properly restored and functioning correctly.
Assists with ensuring IS security-related documentation is current and accessible to properly authorized individuals.
Assists with audits and continuous monitoring (CONMON) activities using available technical and non-technical processes.
Assists with system architecture flaws using industry standard tools (e.g., STIG, SCAP, Splunk, Trellix, Nessus) that will be flowed to the ISSO, SA, ISSE, and ISSM for review.