Cyber Engineering Co-Op

Job Description

About company

Battelle is a leading applied science and technology development company dedicated to solving humanity’s most pressing challenges and creating a safer, healthier, and more secure world. It serves as a place for brilliant minds in science, technology, engineering, and business operations to do the greatest good.

For Interns and Co-ops:
• Impactful Experience: Interns and co-ops are integral, valued team members who make a real impact through hands-on learning and challenging projects.
• Inclusive Environment: Battelle recognizes and appreciates the value of diverse backgrounds and experiences, welcoming all qualified individuals.
• Professional Growth: The company is committed to employee growth, encouraging new ideas through a large Internal Research and Development (IRAD) program, allowing engineers to work on projects they are passionate about.
• Work Culture:
• Casual: The team typically wears t-shirts and jeans.
• Close-knit: A close-knit group that enjoys social activities outside of work, such as visiting local restaurants, bowling, Korean BBQ, or paintball.
• Supportive: Offers flexible work schedules (including compressed schedules with every other Friday off), enhanced work flexibility with a hybrid model (60% in-office, 40% remote, with Monday and Tuesday as common in-office days), Employee Resource Groups for community building, social and professional networking events, and opportunities for philanthropic involvement.
• Career Preparation: The intern and co-op program is highly effective in preparing students for the workforce, with 98% of survey respondents feeling better prepared and 100% reporting respectful treatment from colleagues.
• Vision: Encourages interns to apply their talent to meaningful projects, pursue scientific discovery, partner with world-class experts, and become the next generation of scientific leaders.

Commitments:
• Equal Opportunity Employer: Battelle provides employment and opportunities for advancement based on individual merit, without discrimination against race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.
• Safety Protocols: May require employees to follow certain safety protocols and be vaccinated against various viruses/diseases based on job duties or client requirements, offering reasonable accommodations for qualified disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs.

Job description

Job Title: Cyber Engineering Co-Op

Term: Spring 2026

Location: 100% onsite in Columbus, OH

Role Overview:
Battelle’s Cyber Engineers are tasked with solving the world’s most challenging Computer Science problems. Co-ops will work in small, agile teams within high-powered computer labs equipped with specialized software and hardware, fostering an environment for inventing new Cyber solutions. The role involves working on research projects and contributing to the advancement of computing technology.

Key Responsibilities:
• Collaboration: Work with the Mission Focused Tools Team to enhance capabilities in reverse engineering and embedded system development.
• Integration: Integrate hardware, software, and reverse engineering tasks within projects.
• Research & Development: Support the latest R&D programs.
• Skill Development: Continuously learn and improve reverse engineering skills through project work and team-building activities.
• Task Execution: Conduct and/or participate in assigned technical tasks and activities with minimal supervision, adhering to time and budget constraints.
• Teamwork & Communication: Work independently and effectively within a multi-disciplinary team environment, communicating ideas clearly with other engineers.

Key Qualifications (Required):
• Academic Enrollment: Current enrollment in a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree program in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Academic Progress: Completion of at least one year of college-level coursework.
• Programming/Debugging: Experience writing or debugging software code in C or C++, or debugging microcontroller code (C or C++).
• Interest in Cyber Areas (one or more):
• Network Security Systems, Information Operations, Information Assurance, and/or Cryptography.
• Computer Network Defense (CND), Computer Network Operations, Information Operations, and/or Cyber Operations.
• Digital design and microcontrollers and/or Cryptography.
• Integrated circuit design and encryption systems.
• Soft Skills: Demonstrated good organization, communication, problem-solving, and teamwork skills.
• Citizenship & Clearance: Must be a sole US citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain a US government security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Practical Cyber Experience: Ability to apply learned cyber skills to real-life scenarios (e.g., through internships, hack-a-thons, cyber security clubs, Capture The Flag (CTF) events).
• Disassembler Familiarity: Experience with disassemblers such as IDA Pro, Binary Ninja, or Ghidra.
• Technical Experience (one or more):
• Computer assembly languages (e.g., x86, x64, PowerPC).
• Software languages (e.g., C, C++, Python, Rust).
• Low-level debug tools (e.g., gdb, OllyDbg, WinDbg, Immunity Debugger).
• Microcontroller design and assembly languages.
• Traditional electronics lab equipment supporting test and debug activities.
• Reverse engineering embedded hardware and software.
• Analyzing disassembled code.
• Programming and using data acquisition tools.