Malware Analysis Intern - Summer 2027

Carnegie Mellon University•Pittsburgh, PA

13d•Onsite

About The Position

The Malware Analysis Intern will work within the Threat Analysis Directorate of CERT, collaborating with security experts to advance the analysis, assurance, and defense of software systems in support of national security. The intern will assist the Malware Analysis Team by developing tools and automation for malware analysis, researching complex problems using AI and traditional reverse-engineering methods, and analyzing malware samples and families to understand their behavior and help responders address sophisticated, 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 per week.

Requirements

Be enrolled in a degree-granting program.
Be willing to travel to various locations to support the SEI's mission, including within the SEI and CMU community.
Be eligible to work in the United States without visa sponsorship and undergo 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.
Organization, attention to detail, and ability to clearly document and communicate findings.

Nice To Haves

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

Responsibilities

Assist the Malware Analysis Team and develop tools that automate malware analysis.
Research and analyze complex problems using AI and traditional reverse-engineering methods.
Analyze malware samples or families to understand them thoroughly.
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 such as Ghidra and IDA Pro across varied microprocessor architectures.
Develop scripts and tools to automatically extract key indicators.
Design and prototype new analysis methods and tools.
Analyze and document complex security threats.