Cybersecurity Intern - Summer 2026
Varda Space Industries
El Segundo, CA, USA
About Varda
Low Earth orbit is open for business. Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules.
From life-saving pharmaceuticals to more powerful fiber optics, there is a world of products used on Earth today that can only be manufactured in space. Varda is accelerating innovation in the orbital economy by creating both the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth. Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind.
Our team is uniquely suited to accomplishing this goal, with leadership and staff comprised of veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, major pharmaceutical companies and Silicon Valley. Varda was founded in January 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov with significant backing from world class investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, and Also Capital.
Varda is headquartered in El Segundo, California, where we have offices and a production facility where our vehicles, equipment, and materials are built, integrated, and tested. Varda also has offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL.
Join Varda, and work to create a bustling in-space ecosystem.
About This Role
Summer internships will range between the months of May and August. All dates dependent upon the university schedule of the selected students. Internships are full-time and on-site in Los Angeles, CA.
We are hiring a summer cybersecurity intern to help our Information security team with day to day work. You will help us watch for security alerts, write things down clearly, and gather the paperwork we need for our upcoming cybersecurity certification.
This is a real job, not busywork. You will look at real alerts, write real reports, and help us get ready for a real audit. You will sit with our Cybersecurity Analyst and our InfoSec Engineer, and you will learn how a security team works inside a company.
If you do well this summer, we will strongly consider you for a full-time junior analyst role after you graduate
Responsibilities
Working with the Cybersecurity Analyst, you will:
• Help review security alerts that come in each day. You will read them, decide what they are, and write down what you did about them.
• Help set up, fine tune, and improve the way our security tools are configured. These tools include Zscaler, CrowdStrike, ThreatLocker, Darktrace, and AlienVault. You will work with your lead to adjust settings, clean up noisy alerts, and make sure each tool is doing its job well.
• Help keep our security event logs up to date, so we have a clear record of what happened and how it was handled.
• Pull sample logs from our security tools and organize them, so we can show an auditor that we are watching the right things.
• Help keep track of the reports we get from our outside security partner, making sure they arrive on time and get filed in the right place.
• Help upload reports and updates into the software we use to track our compliance work.
• Work on one bigger summer project that you own from start to finish. You will pick this with your lead in the first week. Some examples: a report on gaps in our logging, a refreshed incident response guide, or a simple dashboard.
What You Will Learn
• How a information security team runs its day to day work when the company has to pass a security audit.
• How the things we do every day (looking at alerts, writing things down, storing logs) turn into the proof an auditor wants to see.
• Hands on use of real security tools that protect computers, networks, web traffic, software, and user accounts. You will get real practice setting up and improving tools like Zscaler, CrowdStrike, ThreatLocker, Darktrace, and AlienVault.
• How to write clearly about technical problems so that people who are not technical can still understand you.
• How the different people on a informaiton security team work together: the InfoSec Head, the analyst, the engineer, the compliance manager, and our outside security partners.
What We Are Looking For
• You are a current undergrad in cybersecurity, computer science, information technology, information systems, or a similar major. You will be a rising junior or rising senior this coming fall.
• You plan to graduate between December 2026 and June 2027.
• You have taken classes or taught yourself at least two of these: networking, how operating systems work, how user accounts and passwords are managed, how to respond to security incidents, or how to watch for security problems.
• You are comfortable reading logs and working with data in a spreadsheet. You know what a basic script is, even if you have not written many.
• You write clearly. You will be writing notes and reports that other people rely on.
• You are organized, you pay attention to details, and you are willing to ask questions when something is unclear.
• You are allowed to work in the United States for the full length of the internship without needing us to sponsor a visa.
Nice to Have (Not Required)
• You are working toward a beginner certification like CompTIA Security Plus or Network Plus.
• You have played with security tools on your own, in a home lab, in a school club, or in a capture the flag competition.
• You have used or read about any of these tools: Zscaler, CrowdStrike, ThreatLocker, Darktrace, AlienVault, Okta, or Vanta.
• You have heard of compliance frameworks like NIST 800 171, NIST 800 53, ISO 27001, or CMMC and understand the basics.
• You can write simple scripts in Python, PowerShell, or Bash.
ITAR Requirements
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Varda, like all employers, must ensure that its employees working in the United States are lawfully authorized to work in the U.S. Additionally, our employees are exposed to and have access to certain export-controlled items. At present, some of our technology to which employees have access requires a license to be exported to individuals other than “U.S. Persons” as defined in U.S. export regulations. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items, our current policy is to only hire “U.S. persons” who are permitted to have access to our technology without an export license.
“US person” means: U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e., individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum in the U.S.)
Learn more about the ITAR here.
Benefits
- Exciting team of professionals at the top of their field working by your side
- Equity in a fully funded space startup with potential for significant growth (interns excluded)
- 401(k) matching (interns excluded)
- Unlimited PTO (interns excluded)
- Health insurance, including Vision and Dental
- Lunch and snacks provided on site every day. Dinners provided twice a week.
- Maternity / Paternity leave (interns excluded)
Varda Space Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates and employees are always evaluated based on merit, qualifications, and performance. We will never discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, martial status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.
E-Verify Statement
Varda Space Industries, Inc. participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program. The E-Verify program is an Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn more about the E-Verify program.
E-Verify Notice Right To Work Notice
