Innovation Research & Development Lab Intern

About the Role

Trace3 is seeking an Innovation Research & Development Lab Intern to support its Innovation R&D Lab. The intern will build and maintain Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud environments for incubator prototypes, proofs of concept, minimum viable products (MVPs), and emerging solutions. This role offers the opportunity to develop practical cloud engineering skills through training and guidance from R&D engineers. Prior professional AWS experience is not required.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and configure AWS environments from provided designs, templates, and checklists to support prototypes, proofs of concept, and MVPs.
• Learn core AWS lab standards, including compute, storage, networking, and identity and access management, with training and guidance.
• Deploy vendor and open-source technologies under evaluation in lab environments for technical review, including security, identity, data, and AI tools.
• Prepare test environments, sample data, and basic validation scripts for proofs of concept 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, with R&D engineers reviewing and owning the final runbooks.
• Track and report resource usage and cost for assigned environments, and shut down or remove unused resources.
• Troubleshoot environment issues and escalate blockers promptly.
• Observe team meetings, technical reviews, and vendor briefings, and prepare notes with takeaways and follow-up questions.
• Complete a capstone project near the end of the internship, such as a documented test environment for a technology under evaluation, and present it to the team.
• Work within approved lab accounts for security, access, and cost controls.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• AWS (Amazon Web Services)
• Linux
• Command line
• Scripting languages (e.g., Python, Bash, PowerShell)
• Git (a plus)
• Infrastructure as code tools (a plus)
• Interest in cybersecurity, identity, AI, or agentic technologies (a plus)

Qualifications

• Enrollment in the Junior or Senior year of an undergraduate program at an accredited college or university.
• Pursuing a field of study applicable to the Innovation R&D Lab internship, such as computer science, information technology, cybersecurity, cloud computing, or a related field.
• Fundamental understanding of cloud computing concepts, such as virtualization, storage, networking, and the shared responsibility model (coursework or personal projects are acceptable).
• Basic familiarity with Linux, the command line, and at least one scripting language.
• Hands-on AWS experience or a foundational certification (e.g., AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner) is ideal but not required.
• 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 individuals with a customer mindset and desire to help people.
• Enthusiasm for technical problem-solving with attention to detail and strong communication skills.
• Availability to work 40 hours per week throughout the internship.