Innovation Research & Development Lab Intern

About the Role

Trace3 is seeking an Innovation Research & Development Lab Intern to support the Innovation R&D Lab. The intern will build and maintain Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud environments for incubator prototypes, proofs of concept (POCs), minimum viable products (MVPs), and technical reviews of emerging solutions. The role involves working with R&D engineers to develop practical cloud engineering skills.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and configure AWS environments from engineer-provided designs, templates, and checklists to support prototypes, POCs, and MVPs.
• Learn core AWS lab standards, including compute, storage, networking, and identity and access management.
• Deploy vendor and open-source technologies for evaluation, including security, identity, data, and AI tools, in lab environments for technical review.
• Prepare test environments, sample data, and basic validation scripts for POCs and technical reviews, and capture results.
• Automate small lab tasks with scripting and learn infrastructure as code tools.
• Document build steps, configurations, and lessons learned.
• Track and report resource usage and cost for assigned environments.
• Troubleshoot environment issues and escalate blockers promptly.
• Observe team meetings, technical reviews, and vendor briefings, and prepare notes.
• Complete a capstone project and present it to the team.
• Work within approved lab accounts, with R&D engineers owning security, access, and cost controls.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Enrollment in the Junior or Senior year of an undergraduate program at an accredited college or university.
• Pursuing a field of study such as computer science, information technology, cybersecurity, cloud computing, or a related field.
• Fundamental understanding of cloud computing concepts (e.g., virtualization, storage, networking, shared responsibility model).
• Basic familiarity with Linux, the command line, and at least one scripting language (e.g., Python, Bash, PowerShell).
• AWS experience or a foundational certification (e.g., AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner) is ideal but not required.
• Familiarity with Git and infrastructure as code tools is a plus.
• Interest in cybersecurity, identity, AI, or agentic technologies is a plus.
• Excellent technical documentation and artifact creation skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better.
• Academic or professional/internship experience working in a professional setting is a plus.
• Ability to work independently on assigned tasks and accept direction.
• Willingness to learn new technologies and ask questions.
• Self-motivated with a customer mindset.
• Enthusiasm for technical problem-solving with attention to detail.
• Availability to work 40 hours per week throughout the internship.

Compensation

• Estimated Pay Range: $18 USD - $27 USD per hour.