Commercial Engagement Intern

Riverside Research Institute is seeking a student intern interested in building experience in commercial business development, business analytics, and financial research for the purpose of developing the skills, knowledge, and experience necessary to pursue a career in national security and defense. The intern will contribute to the analysis of R&D portfolios as well as to the discovery and characterization of commercial capabilities and companies with product offerings applicable to the defense and intelligence communities. Specific topics of interest include engagement with companies offering dual-use commercial technologies in the fields of aerospace, AI/ML, autonomous systems, human systems, energy, advanced materials, quantum sensing, and cyber. Location is flexible, but ideal candidates are in the San Francisco Bay Area or Washington D.C. The ideal candidate would be available to extend the internship, part-time, beyond the initial 8-12 week period to further strengthen and expand skills while attending classes during the academic term.

Develop and/or apply subject matter knowledge of key industry and technology focus pillars to identify and catalog candidate companies, innovative solutions, and key partners relevant to national security mission areas.
• Conduct market research by reaching out to businesses to fill knowledge gaps and bring sector, company, and commercial solution information up to date.
• Organize and update a database of hundreds of companies based on their capabilities and accomplishments; build dashboards to convey key information to internal and external stakeholders.
• Collect and organize information on commercial solutions, analyze external market data, and create and present reports to management to aid in decision making and planning.
• Integrate into and add value to ongoing business development and marketing and engagement activities with current and emerging commercial partners; assist in planning commercial engagement events, as needed.
• Become an ambassador at your College or University to engage faculty, staff, and students and to inform them of further opportunities to work with the US Government to help address critical challenges in the national security space.
• Approximately 5-10% travel may be required as needed to meet mission objectives or to meet with commercial and stakeholder organizations.

Required Qualifications:

• Undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in an accredited College or University seeking a degree in business such as accounting, business management, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, or a similar field of study.
  Familiarity with basic online tools used to research public and private companies.
• Willingness to take on tasks that require subject matter learning, evolving process development, and actively seeking help from others when needed.
  Excellent interpersonal skills and an ability to work within a dynamic team environment.
• Ability to interact with a wide variety of personality types from a range of professions and experience levels including with DoD/USG civilian and military personnel, commercial solutions developers, and investors and industry professionals.
• Strong written and oral communication skills; the ability to present complex matters clearly and simply; effective organizational skills; the ability to be proactive, take initiative and follow through with tasks.
• Proficient computer skills and experience with Office 365 and Google Suite.

Additional Preferred Qualifications:

• Ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI clearance; current clearance preferred but not required upon onboarding.
• Experience with commercial products, go-to-market strategies, and product roadmapping and agile engineering development planning cycles.
• Familiarity with or demonstrated interest in gaining expertise with current and emerging commercial capabilities in the aerospace, AI/ML, and autonomy sectors.