Graduate Research Internships - Summer 2026

POSITION: Graduate Internships; Summer 2026

Verisign Labs is seeking highly motivated graduate student summer interns to collaborate with our research scientists on subject areas related to our research portfolio. Verisign is a global leader in operating critical internet infrastructure. We are responsible for the operational accuracy and stability of .COM and .NET, a number of other top-level domains, maintaining the cryptographic material for the DNSSEC global root cryptographic key (the root KSK), and operating two of the Internets DNS root servers; answering over 450 billion queries daily. This entails exciting basic research issues relating to Internet systems that include routing, domain names, and many other aspects of Internet security. Verisign Labs is Verisigns applied research organization that conducts basic and applied research using the wealth of Internet-scale DNS, routing, and security data that is associated with our role.

Summer project topics allow interns to apply and expand their expertise in the challenging and unique research setting offered by Verisign. The goal of these summer internships at Verisign is to contribute to interns graduate experience and interests. While working collaboratively and closely with Verisign researchers and mentors, students will be responsible for exploring novel research challenges and are expected to be self-motivated and independent in their daily work.

Past years intern work has resulted in conference/journal publications, internal product advancements, and intellectual property (i.e., patents). Given Verisigns broad business capabilities and the diversity of our scientists expertise, the Lab seeks interns from a breadth of disciplines. Current projects include DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC), inter-domain routing security, privacy/security/stability of these, formal structures of object security protocols (such as secure email, code signing, and other X.509 related security protocols), large scale measurements and evaluations of DNS zone change, DNS traffic analysis, impact of post-quantum cryptographic algorithms on Internet protocols, alternate namespaces, new applications of domain names, and future Internet design.

In addition to research, summer interns at Verisign will be able to participate in social opportunities that include fun networking events and activities with the broader Intern Class; partnerships with our Young Professionals Group; technical talks and speakers series about Verisigns business, technology, and industry; and small talks with senior level company executives.

Responsibilities:

• Work with technology/business leaders on exciting summer research questions.
• Independently propose, develop, and evaluate solutions under the mentorship of a Verisign thought leader.
• Document and present research results in appropriate forums (internal and external).

Qualifications:

• Current enrollment in a US-based PhD or MS degree program in CS or a related field
• Availability for 12 weeks of summer
• Involvement in applied/operational research; publications are a significant plus (include a complete CV)
• Experience in one or more of the following technology areas:
  • DNS evolution, security, and privacy including the DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC)
  • Inter-domain routing research
  • Network security research
  • Domain name registration and data services
  • Internet-scale measurement and analysis techniques
  • Blockchain and decentralization technologies
  • Cryptographic techniques and protocols

This position is based in our Reston, VA office and offers a hybrid work schedule.

The pay range for this role is $42.00 - $45.00 per hour.

The anticipated pay range for this position is noted above, however, base pay offered may vary depending on level of education, job-related knowledge, skills and experience.