Malware Analysis Intern - Summer 2027

Software Engineering Institute | Carnegie Mellon University•Pittsburgh, PA

33d•Onsite

About The Position

The Malware Analysis Intern will work within the Threat Analysis Directorate in CERT, collaborating with security experts who advance the analysis, assurance, and defense of software systems to enhance national security. The intern will assist the Malware Analysis Team and develop tools that automate malware analysis. The work includes researching and analyzing complex problems using AI and traditional reverse-engineering methods, analyzing malware samples and families, and creating tools to help responders address sophisticated and novel threats. The role contributes to tool development and automation, malware analysis and reverse-engineering capability development, program analysis research, and emerging-threat analysis. The position is onsite at the Pittsburgh office five days a week.

Requirements

Must be enrolled in a degree-granting program.
Must be eligible to work in the United States without visa sponsorship and will be subject to a background check.
Ability to think critically and solve problems.
Familiarity with a low-level programming language such as C or C++.
Familiarity with a scripting language such as Python.
Basic knowledge of common cybersecurity tools, such as system and network monitoring tools (e.g., Microsoft Sysinternals).
Ability to collaborate with professional engineers and researchers internally and externally.
Willingness to learn new technologies with cross-functional teams.
Must be organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to clearly document and communicate findings.

Nice To Haves

Experience with static binary or malware analysis; this experience may come from education or extracurricular activities.
Experience with technical writing; this experience may come from education or extracurricular activities.
Research experience; this experience may come from education or extracurricular activities.
Experience with debugging; this experience may come from education or extracurricular activities.

Responsibilities

Assist members of the Malware Analysis Team.
Develop tools and automation for the malware analysis process, including scripts and tools to extract key indicators.
Research and analyze complex problems using AI and traditional reverse-engineering methods.
Analyze malware samples or families to understand their behavior and characteristics.
Develop tools to help responders address sophisticated, novel threats.
Contribute to malware analysis and reverse-engineering capability development, program analysis research, and emerging-threat analysis.
Perform binary analysis using reverse-engineering tools across a variety of microprocessor architectures.
Design and prototype new analysis capabilities and tools.
Analyze and document complex security threats.
Travel to various locations in support of the SEI’s mission, including within the SEI and CMU community.