Cybersecurity IT Systems Intern

Location: Blacksburg, VA (on-site)

Pay: $20/hour - 15 - 20 hours a week. 

Company: VPT, Inc.

Time Frame: August 1, 2026 - December 31, 2026: 10 week period determined from start date

VPT, Inc., is a global leader in power conversion solutions for avionics, military, space, and industrial applications. We're seeking a motivated Cybersecurity & IT Systems Intern to help protect, monitor, and maintain secure IT systems in a regulated manufacturing environment. You'll gain real-world experience working with modern enterprise tools, endpoint protection, and automated security processes.

- Assist with day-to-day cybersecurity and IT support tasks across Windows, Azure, and Office 365 environments.

- Help identify and respond to security-related incidents and alerts.

- Use tools like FreshService for ticketing and documentation of security or IT issues.

- Research and troubleshoot errors, potential vulnerabilities, and misconfigurations using trusted sources and documentation.

- Support Fortinet security systems while applying secure configuration practices.

- Participate in user access reviews, MFA troubleshooting, and endpoint security checks.

- Learn to detect, escalate, and resolve issues that may indicate security risks.

- Assist with security-specific patch management, document mitigating CVE's, antivirus monitoring (CrowdStrike, Rapid7), and system hardening.

- Collaborate with IT and cybersecurity teams to maintain compliance with DoD and CMMC Level 2 requirements.

- Studying or recently graduated in IT, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, or Computer Science. The students must be enrolled in a participating SWVA CCI institution.

- Basic understanding of security Windows environments, Office 365 hardening, network security, endpoint protection tools, and ticketing systems.

- Interest in cybersecurity operations, incident response, and threat detection.

- Experience with or curiosity about SQL, VMware, Nutanix and Fortinet.

- Strong problem-solving and communication skills.

- Comfortable researching issues online and learning independently.

- Real-world exposure to cybersecurity operations in a DoD-regulated environment.

- Experience using enterprise IT and IT Security tools like FreshService, VMWare, Crowdstrike, Rapid7, Action1.

- Mentorship from IT and cybersecurity professionals.

- A strong foundation for future roles in cybersecurity analysis, IT administration, or SOC operations.

VPT, Inc., is an Equal Opportunity/VET/Disability Employer

Requirements:
- Must be a U.S. Person (due to project requirements)

- Temporary position

- Competitive compensation based on experience

- The students must be enrolled in a southwest participating CCI institution (see Network | Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Southwest Virginia | Virginia Tech)