Defense Interns

Apply

Two steps. This form, then an email with a link for your resume. We do not take files through an open form, so the resume comes second - it is the safest way to do it and it costs you one extra click.

Every question here is asked because a host employer wants the answer. What you write is what we put in front of them, so the fuller your answers, the more we have to work with when we are making your case. Take a few minutes over it.

Which track are you applying to? High school College

Your name

As you would like it written.

Email address

We send the next step here, so use one you actually read.

School

What you want to work in

e.g. Cybersecurity, Cloud Operations, Systems Engineering. A best guess is fine.

When you finish

e.g. June 2027. An estimate is fine - we are after the year, not the day.

When you could start

e.g. Summer 2027, or after exams. A rough answer is fine and it is not a commitment.

Anything you want us to know

A few lines. What you have built, what you are learning, why this. There is no minimum and nobody is counting words - but this is the part a host employer actually reads, so it is worth a minute.

Some of our host employers work under U.S. export-control rules. Do any of these describe you?

Defense contractors often work on projects covered by federal export-control regulations, which limit who is allowed to work on them. The rules use the term "U.S. person", and it covers more than citizens - a green card, asylum or refugee status all count. We ask so we know which placements to put you forward for. It is not a test, there is no wrong answer, and it does not decide whether we accept you.

Yes - I am a U.S. citizen or national, a lawful permanent resident (green card), or an asylee or refugee No - none of those describe me I am not sure I would rather not say

Answering "no" or "not sure" does not end your application. Not every placement is export-controlled, and if it matters for one we would rather talk to you about it than guess.

You may show my application and my resume to the host employers in the program.

That is how placements happen: the companies who host students look at who applied and say who they would take. It is only ever the companies in this program, never anybody else, and only after somebody on our team has read your application first.

We do not ask for your address, your telephone number or your date of birth, and there is nowhere on this form to give them to us. A name, an email address and what you are studying is what the program needs.

What the program asks of you

Two tracks, and which one you are in changes what the placement looks like. Read the one you are applying to before you send the form.

High school Students in high school, generally 16 and over.

A paid placement at a defense contractor that runs alongside school and is built to line up with Maryland's youth apprenticeship programme, so the hours can count towards graduation rather than sitting outside it.

What you get

Paid work at the host employer - never unpaid, and never below minimum wage.
A named mentor at the company who is responsible for your training, not just your supervision.
Reviews during the placement rather than only at the end, so nothing at the end is a surprise.
Safety instruction before you do anything, and work that is legal for your age.

What we ask

Keep passing your classes. The placement does not replace school and cannot be a reason for falling behind in it.
Turn up, and tell the employer and your school coordinator when you cannot.
Get yourself there. Transport is yours to arrange - talk to us early if that is the thing in the way, because it often is and it is usually solvable.
If you are under 18 you will need a work permit. Your school helps with this.

Built to line up with the Apprenticeship Maryland Program

A minimum of 450 paid hours with the employer.
At least minimum wage for every hour worked.
One credit for the related classroom instruction and three for the on-the-job hours.
A school coordinator who visits the workplace at least twice a quarter.

Our high school track is built to line up with the Apprenticeship Maryland Program. Whether a particular student's hours count towards credit is agreed between their school system and the state - we help with the paperwork, but we do not decide it. Read the state's agreement

College Students at a college or university, at any year.

A paid rotation at a defense contractor, paired with an industry certification you keep. Built around a semester or a summer rather than around a school timetable.

What you get

Paid work on something real. Not shadowing, and not a project invented to occupy an intern.
A mentor inside the team you are placed with.
An industry certification in your discipline - cybersecurity, cloud, IT or engineering - which is yours whatever happens next.
A rotation that is designed to end with a conversation about what comes after it.

What we ask

Be enrolled, and stay enrolled, unless you have graduated into the placement.
Be able to work in the United States. Some host employers have further requirements of their own and will say so before you are matched.
Turn up and see the rotation through. A placement that ends early costs the next student the seat.

We never ask for your address, your telephone number or your date of birth, and there is nowhere on this form to give them to us. Your resume comes afterwards, through a private link sent to your email - never as an attachment on an open form.

Not sure which track you are in? support@defenseinterns.com