Research Intern - Firmware Security

Research Interns put inquiry and theory into practice. Alongside fellow doctoral candidates and some of the world's best researchers, Research Interns learn, collaborate, and network for life. Research Interns not only advance their own careers, but they also contribute to exciting research and development strides. During the 12-week internship, Research Interns are paired with mentors and expected to collaborate with other Research Interns and researchers, present findings, and contribute to the vibrant life of the community. Research internships are available in all areas of research, and are offered year-round, though they typically begin in the summer. Research and prototype ways to apply LLMs to firmware-focused code review, including summarization of findings, reasoning over call stacks, and generating actionable reviewer guidance. Integrate and evaluate LLM-driven approaches alongside existing static analysis tools used in firmware pipelines, with attention to false positives, deduplication, and explainability. Experiment with “agentic” or multi-step workflows that combine tool outputs (e.g., static analysis) with LLM reasoning to verify or refute findings and improve signal quality. Collaborate with firmware, security, and systems engineers to define success metrics and validate prototypes on representative firmware codebases and workflows. Document results and present recommendations that help scale secure firmware development and review practices. Currently pursuing a master's or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field. At least one semester/quarter remaining after the completion of the internship. Experience with programming in at least one of the following: Python, C/C++, Rust, or similar, and comfort reading systems-level code (firmware/OS/hardware-adjacent code). In addition to the qualifications below, you'll need to submit a minimum of two reference letters for this position as well as a cover letter and any relevant work or research samples. After you submit your application, a request for letters may be sent to your list of references on your behalf. Note that reference letters cannot be requested until after you have submitted your application, and furthermore, that they might not be automatically requested for all candidates. You may wish to alert your letter writers in advance, so they will be ready to submit your letter. Familiarity with static analysis concepts and outputs (findings, taint/dataflow, call graphs, rule-based detections) and an interest in improving developer experience and review quality. Exposure to firmware or embedded systems development, secure boot/update pipelines, or security review methods used for privileged code. Interest in applying LLMs to security engineering problems, including vulnerability discovery and remediation workflows.