This summer, ManTech is inaugurating its DFEND program. The DFEND program (Dominion Forensic Engineering and Development) is a paid, eight-week summer internship program for students entering their senior year of high school or freshman year of college.
This year, ManTech partnered with the Academies of Loudoun to recruit and clear the next generation of Computer Forensic Analysts and Reverse Engineers.
On May 16, ManTech welcomed 20 high school and college students (and their parents) to an orientation that kicked off their summer internship program.
Speaking to the students, Damian DiPippa, Senior Vice President and General Manager of ManTech’s Mission and Intelligence Solutions business unit, set the tone:
“Everything we do here at ManTech deals directly with the defense and protection of our nation, of our warfighters, and of our partners. Systems engineering with satellite systems, systems engineering with the network and cybersecurity.”
Real-world Engineering Problems, Expert Mentors
DFEND provides an exciting opportunity for ambitious students to experience forensic technologies in a real-world lab environment with dedicated mentors.
Students gain hands-on experience working with the latest technologies in the following disciplines:
- Reverse engineering
- Advanced forensics
- Hardware engineering
- Network engineering
- Protected data
- Mobile forensics
Interns are given meaningful, challenging assignments at an individual and group level, with the opportunity to “out brief” their experience at the end of the program.
Security Clearances
In parallel with their work, ManTech helps guide the students through the beginning of their security clearance process, one effort in a suite of solutions to address the government’s backlogged security clearance system.
Top secret clearances, a requirement to work with many of ManTech’s customers in the defense and intelligence community, typically take 8-10 months to process, and sometimes stretching beyond a full year to finalize.
ManTech’s commitment to helping its DFEND interns start the clearance process early helps the students understand what is involved in qualifying for sensitive government work and demonstrates our company’s investment in the next generation of skilled engineers and cyber warriors.
Benefits
In addition to being paid to learn, interns are also:
- Eligible for undergraduate and graduate tuition reimbursement to pursue a STEM degree;
- Given access to the Skillsoft Corporate Learning Library, which contains access to more than 30,000 learning assets;
- Given hands-on experience with new technologies that could help build their portfolio; and
- Given the opportunity to return every summer throughout college, as well as opportunities for employment after college graduation.
“This program is our opportunity to build a relationship with you – get to know you as you get to know us and explore your interests in a real-world, practical environment,” said David Mack, ManTech Executive Director and Program Manager for Cyber, Intelligence and Systems Engineering,
For more information on ManTech’s DFEND Summer Internship Program, click here or visit: mantech.com/careers/interns