Learning Engineering Intern

Carnegie Mellon University•Pittsburgh, PA

9d•Onsite

About The Position

The Learning Engineering Intern will work within the Cyber Mission Readiness Directorate in CERT, collaborating with learning engineers, software developers, and cybersecurity experts to develop training, exercises, and assessments that improve cyber mission readiness. The intern will assist the Operational Readiness and Evaluation team in applying learning science to the design, delivery, and evaluation of hands-on cybersecurity courses. The role includes connecting mission tasks to learning objectives, practice activities, and performance-based assessments; using learner data to measure whether training produces observable skills; and evaluating and improving AI-assisted curriculum development workflows to ensure generated content is accurate, aligned with objectives, and reviewed by subject matter experts. The internship begins in Fall 2026, with the option to continue through the Spring 2027 semester. It is a part-time, fully onsite position based in the Pittsburgh office. The role contributes to learning experience and assessment design, learning analytics and xAPI/cmi5 instrumentation, AI-assisted curriculum development and quality review, and training effectiveness evaluation.

Requirements

Be enrolled in a degree-granting program.
Be willing to travel to various locations to support the SEI’s overall mission, including within the SEI and CMU community.
Be subject to a background check and eligible to work in the United States without visa sponsorship.
Ability to think critically and solve problems.
Familiarity with learning science principles such as active learning, deliberate practice, and feedback.
Ability to write measurable learning objectives and align them with instruction and assessments.
Familiarity with a scripting language or data analysis tool such as Python, R, or SQL.
Ability to collaborate internally and externally with professional engineers, instructional designers, and subject matter experts.
Willingness to learn new technologies with cross-functional teams.
Organization, attention to detail, and capacity to clearly document and communicate findings.

Nice To Haves

Coursework or experience in instructional design, learning sciences, or human-computer interaction.
Experience with learning management systems, xAPI, cmi5, or learning analytics.
Experience using generative AI tools to create or evaluate educational content.
Cybersecurity coursework or hands-on experience, such as capture-the-flag competitions.
Relevant experience gained through education-driven experiences or extracurricular activities.

Responsibilities

Design and align learning objectives, practice activities, and performance-based assessments.
Instrument learning experiences and analyze learner data using xAPI/cmi5 to evaluate training effectiveness.
Evaluate and refine AI-assisted curriculum workflows and the content they produce.
Document findings and present recommendations to instructors, developers, and stakeholders.
Assist in designing, delivering, and evaluating hands-on cybersecurity courses using learning science.
Connect mission tasks to learning objectives, practice activities, and performance-based assessments.
Review AI-generated curriculum content for accuracy, alignment to objectives, and subject matter expert review.