Defense Unicorns - Internship
About the program
We are seeking Platform Engineer SkillBridge interns to join our team. This internship is designed to provide transitioning service members with hands-on experience and training in platform engineering while learning alongside experienced engineers at Defense Unicorns.Throughout the SkillBridge internship, you’ll have the opportunity to build your technical skills, gain exposure to real-world platform engineering challenges, and learn how our teams architect, build, and deploy secure software in complex environments. You’ll work alongside experienced Unicorns who will provide mentorship, guidance, and opportunities to apply what you’re learning in a practical setting.You’ll join a team of talented and dedicated Unicorns focused on advancing freedom and independence globally. As part of your training experience, you’ll gain exposure to the technologies, tools, and engineering practices our teams use to architect, build, and deploy an on-premises platform for hosting cybersecurity applications.The goal of this internship isn’t for you to arrive knowing everything, it’s to give you the opportunity to learn, practice, ask questions, and develop the skills and experience needed to continue your career in platform engineering after your military service.
What you'll do
During your SkillBridge internship, you’ll gain hands-on exposure to platform engineering and learn alongside experienced Defense Unicorns engineers. The program is designed to help you translate skills developed during your military service into a civilian technology career while building practical experience with modern platform engineering, Kubernetes, DevSecOps, and cloud-native technologies.As part of your training experience, you may have opportunities to:- Learn Kubernetes & Platform Engineering: Gain hands-on experience transforming applications into Kubernetes-friendly formats and learn how applications are deployed and operated within Kubernetes environments, including environments hosted on bare-metal infrastructure.- Develop DevSecOps Skills: Learn how our teams use DevSecOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, GitOps, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and Cybersecurity as Code (CaC) to build and maintain secure software environments.- Build Technical Problem-Solving Skills: Work alongside experienced engineers to understand technical challenges, evaluate potential approaches, and learn how engineering teams make decisions in complex environments.- Gain Product & Mission Exposure: Learn how technical decisions connect to product strategy, customer needs, and mission objectives.- Experience Cross-Functional Engineering: Observe and participate in collaboration between application development and platform teams while learning how applications move from development into production environments.- Explore Open Source Development: Gain exposure to Defense Unicorns’ open source projects and repositories and learn how engineers collaborate and contribute within open source communities.- Develop Technical Skills: Build familiarity with technologies and concepts such as Kubernetes, GitOps, pipelines, Go, Python, Ansible, YAML, automated testing, and related platform engineering tools.- Learn Secure Software Delivery: Gain exposure to cybersecurity, compliance requirements, ATO processes, and the considerations involved in delivering software into secure Department of War environments.- Receive Mentorship & Feedback: Learn directly from experienced engineers who can provide technical guidance, feedback, and mentorship throughout your SkillBridge experience.Training opportunities may vary based on the intern’s existing experience, learning goals, program duration, and the projects available during the SkillBridge period.Helpful Background & Areas of InterestYou do not need to be an expert in all of the areas below. SkillBridge is a training and development opportunity, and we expect interns to join us with different levels of technical experience. Exposure to or an interest in any of the following may help you get the most from the program:- Interest in pursuing a civilian career in platform engineering, DevSecOps, software engineering, cybersecurity, or a related technical field.- Familiarity with or interest in learning Kubernetes and containerized applications.- Exposure to scripting or programming languages such as Python, Go, or Ansible.- Familiarity with YAML or an interest in learning it.- Exposure to DevSecOps/DevOps concepts, CI/CD pipelines, or GitOps.- Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code (IaC), automated testing, or similar engineering practices.- Experience working as part of an Agile or cross-functional team.- Exposure to Department of Defense environments, weapon systems, Program Management Offices (PMOs), cyberspace operations, or incident response.- Familiarity with DoD cybersecurity or compliance requirements, including ATO processes.- Exposure to Big Bang, Iron Bank, or C-ATO processes.- A DoD 8570 IAT II certification or similar training is helpful but not required.- Current security clearance or eligibility to obtain a security clearance may be helpful depending on the training opportunities available.- Curiosity, a willingness to ask questions, and an eagerness to learn new technologies and apply feedback.