Software-Defined Radio Security Internship

For more than 75 years, NATO’s mission has been to preserve peace and security in the Alliance for nearly one billion citizens. The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) is NATO’s technology and cyber hub. We are a team of 3000 civilian and military staff, working together to connect all corners of NATO and maintain its Edge from 30 locations across the Alliance.

 

We are a key partner in NATO's Digital Transformation, working hand in hand with industry to provide technical solutions and expertise, facilitating political consultations and decision-making, and enabling multi-domain operations. 

 

Our experts provide secure static and deployable communications infrastructure, satellite communications and information technology services, connected the Alliance’s forces, and strengthening NATO’s defence and deterrence posture. Fulfilling NCIA’s missions is possible because of our greatest force, our people. In order to reinforce NATO’s edge, we aim to hire, train and retain the very best staff.

 

Our staff members represent both the diversity and unity of our Alliance. When you join NCIA, you will be part of an organization where you can contribute authentically to the mission and purpose of NATO and help us ensure seamless connectivity among Allied partner nations.

 

About the Program

The NCIA internship is a 6-month program based at one of our key hubs in The Netherlands, Belgium or Portugal. Our internship opportunities start from either 1 March or 1 September with the start date being dependent on the timeline to secure the required security clearance to work within the NATO community. During an internship, you will join and support a diverse international team and simultaneously learn from our experts via on-the-job training, working independently on purposeful projects or initiatives during your tenure.

 

About the Internship 

The Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR) Centre delivers, supports and protects valued Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, expertise and services.  JISR maximises operational effectiveness for NATO in four key domains: Intelligence Applications, Operational ISR Support, Electronic Warfare/Surveillance Services and Geospatial/Meteorological/Oceanographic Information Services.

 

Literature Review & Background Research

• Investigate existing research on electromagnetic (EM) emissions from computer equipment.
• Study principles of Software Defined Radios (SDRs) and their use in signal detection.

 

SDR experimentation

• Get acquainted with SDRs already available at NCIA.
• Select an appropriate SDR device, install and configure SDR software, involving the necessary antennas and shielding.

 

Signal Detection & Analysis & interpretation

• Identify frequency ranges associated with emissions. Use signal processing tools to detect and analyse emissions, and to examine signal characteristics
• Determine if signals contain exploitable information.
• Compare different SDR models for effectiveness.

 

Reporting & Documentation

• Summarise findings on the feasibility of using SDRs for emissions from computer systems.
• Provide recommendations for future research or improvements.

 

About you:

The valuable knowledge and experience that you bring to this role is:

 

Programming/software development: 

Designs, codes, verifies, tests, documents, amends and refactors simple programs/scripts.  Applies agreed standards and tools to achieve a well-engineered result.  Reviews own work.

 

Radio frequency engineering: 

Assists with setting up, tuning and functional checks of radio frequency devices and software.  Resolves faults down to line replaceable unit level or escalates according to given procedures.  Carries out user confidence checks and escalates faults according to given procedures.  Integrates RF devices with software applications using static configurations.

 

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply for our internship program, you will need to meet the following criteria:

 

• You are a national of a NATO member country
• You are currently studying towards a university-level degree or have recently graduated in the past 12 months
• A thorough knowledge of one of the two NATO languages, both written and spoken, is essential and some knowledge of the other is desirable. Most of the work of the NCI Agency is conducted in the English language.

 

We also request that you please attach the following documents to your application form:

• Copy of the university degree you have completed and/or
• Proof of ongoing studies with the dates clearly mentioned if you are still studying

Application Process:

The application process for an internship at NCIA is:

 

Ø  Apply via the NCIA Careers site by 23:59 CET 16^th March 2025

Ø  If selected to progress to the first stage evaluation this will consist of a logic, numeracy and behavioral gamification exercises in addition to on-demand video questions aligned to the requirements of the internship

Ø  Virtual interviews will take place in the month of April

Ø  Tentative offer to be presented to successful candidates in early May

 

Compensation

Netherlands 

You will be compensated at a fixed taxable rate of 1,424.59 EUR per month, based on 38 hours of work per week and for reasonable travel expenses to start on day 1 and to return to your home location once the internship is complete.

 

Thank you for your patience while we consider your application.  

 

NCIA prides itself on being an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment of mutual respect and value uniqueness and differences in gender, gender identity, race, ethnic or cultural origin, age, religion, sexual orientation and physical or neurocognitive ability.