Quantum Optics and Photonics Student Researcher Intern
About The Position
Why choose between doing meaningful work and having a fulfilling life? At MITRE, you can have both. That's because MITRE people are committed to tackling our nation's toughest challenges—and we're committed to the long-term well-being of our employees. MITRE is different from most technology companies. We are a not-for-profit corporation chartered to work for the public interest, with no commercial conflicts to influence what we do. The R&D centers we operate for the government create lasting impact in fields as diverse as cybersecurity, healthcare, aviation, defense, and enterprise transformation. We're making a difference every day—working for a safer, healthier, and more secure nation and world. Our workplace reflects our values. We offer competitive benefits, exceptional professional development opportunities for career growth, and a culture of innovation that embraces adaptability, collaboration, technical excellence, and people in partnership. If this sounds like the choice you want to make, then choose MITRE - and make a difference with us. Period of Work: May-August 2026 Full-Time: 40 hours a week Location: Bedford, MA In Office, 5 days per week. L273 is the Quantum Sciences, Optics, and Imaging Department, part of MITRE's Emerging Technologies Innovation Center. Our mission is to drive innovation and R&D for today's most critical challenges through the rapid identification, exploration, integration, & maturation of novel devices and systems. This internship is targeting students who want to pursue a long-term career in research. Student researcher / intern will perform state-of-the-art experiments in quantum optics, quantum materials, and photonic integrated circuits designed for quantum networking, computing, and sensing purposes. Student researcher will perform both theory and experimental research, which involves designing the experiment, executing the data collection, and interpreting the data.
Requirements
- Sustained excellence in academic performance.
- Must be a student enrolled full-time in an accredited degree-seeking program in physics, applied physics, electrical engineering, optics, or a related degree and continue to be enrolled full-time the semester following the internship.
- Previous coursework in E&M, integrated optics, fiber optics, and/or free-space optics.
Nice To Haves
- Desire to pursue advanced graduate studies and a career in research.
- Previous hands-on lab experience in integrated optics, fiber optics, and free-space optics.
- Previous coursework or hands-on lab experience in quantum optics, quantum materials, or photonic integrated circuits.
- Experience with python, MATLAB, COMSOL, and/or ANSYS Lumerical.
Responsibilities
- Support existing quantum materials (diamond color centers) work in both theory and experiment.
- Support existing optical experimental work in quantum sensing.
- Support theory and experimentation of novel photonic circuit devices, including performing experimental measurements of photonic circuits in the laboratory, processing and interpreting the resulting data.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Intern
Education Level
No Education Listed
Number of Employees
5,001-10,000 employees
