Posting Title

Undergraduate/Graduate (Summer) Intern - Generative AI for Cybersecurity

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Location

CO - Golden

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Position Type

Intern (Fixed Term)

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Hours Per Week

40

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Working at NLR

NLR is located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for energy systems research and development.

Join the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), where world-class scientists, engineers, and experts are accelerating energy innovation through breakthrough research and systems integration. From our mission to our collaborative culture, NLR stands out in the research community for its commitment to an affordable and secure energy future. Spanning foundational science to applied systems engineering and analysis, we focus on solving complex challenges to deliver advanced, secure, reliable, and cost-effective energy solutions. Our work helps strengthen U.S. industries, support job creation, and promote national economic growth.

At NLR, you'll find a mission-driven environment supported by state-of-the-art facilities, multidisciplinary research teams, and strong collaborations with industry, academia, and other national laboratories. We offer robust professional development opportunities, and a competitive benefits package designed to support your career and well-being.

Job Description

NLR’s internship program aims to bridge gaps in education, research, and public service to create career pathways for students to deliver collaborative research opportunities. This is a summer program that provides students with a unique introduction to hands-on research in the cybersecurity for clean energy industry. The student intern will work with a wide variety of experts working in emerging field of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence in critical infrastructure like energy systems. Depending on the student intern’s expertise and project’s need the student might be involved in projects relevant to advanced adoption/application of AI (especially large language models/ foundation models for critical infrastructure cybersecurity) in grid cybersecurity.  

As a Generative AI for Cybersecurity Intern, the student will be at the forefront of securing the next generation of artificial intelligence and adopting this practice for grid security enhancement. The student’s work will involve creatively finding and understanding vulnerabilities in AI systems to help us build more robust and secure technologies. 

 

The student’s duties would include:  

• Develop and execute novel attack scenarios targeting generative AI models. 

• Utilize LLMs to generate realistic adversarial inputs for security testing and system evaluation. 

• Employ Explainable AI (XAI) techniques to analyze and document the root causes of model vulnerabilities. 

• Research emerging threats and attack vectors in the field of AI security. 

• Collaborate with our cybersecurity and AI development teams to report findings and recommend mitigation strategies. 

• Document your testing methodologies, results, and insights in clear and concise reports. 

The internship will include exposure to cybersecurity subject matter experts across the DOE lab complex, academia, and others. This internship offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the cutting-edge field of offensive AI, providing you with highly sought-after skills at the intersection of generative AI and cybersecurity. You will not only learn to think like an adversary but also contribute to the critical mission of building more trustworthy and secure AI systems.

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Basic Qualifications

Minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.

Undergraduate: Must be enrolled as a full-time studen