Formal Methods Research Intern

Riverside Research

United States, Massachusetts, Lexington

70 Westview St (Show on map)

Oct 24, 2025

Formal Methods Research Intern

Location

US-MA-Lexington

ID

2025-4024

Category

Internships / Co-Ops

Position Type

Less Than 30 Hourly

Riverside Overview

Riverside Research is an independent National Security Nonprofit dedicated to research and development in the national interest. We provide high-end technical services, research and development, and prototype solutions to some of the country's most challenging technical problems.

All Riverside Research opportunities require U.S. Citizenship.

Position Overview

Riverside Research's Secure and Resilient Systems group seeks a Formal Methods Research Intern to support the specification and verification of systems-level software in Lexington, MA. This role offers the opportunity to work alongside a team of experienced computer scientists and cybersecurity professionals on cutting-edge research initiatives.

This position will focus on establishing meaningful cyber and systems security properties. Throughout the internship, you will gain hands-on experience with and develop a deep understanding of formal methods, building valuable skills in secure systems development.

Responsibilities

Develop technical fluency in formal methods for cyber and system security

Build specifications/proofs in proof assistants like Rocq and Lean
Build tools/capabilities in programming languages like Rust and OCaml
Document and communicate design decisions, technical challenges, and progress to technical program management
Collaborate with team members on all aspects of formal methods research, identifying machine-checkable properties of interest, developing and applying tools to check such properties, verifying such tools, reviewing papers/proposals, etc.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

Enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program in Computer Science, Computer Security, Formal Methods, Automated Reasoning, or related major
Ability to work collaboratively on speculative research projects
Experience with functional and imperative programming
Exposure to programming language concepts, definitions, and implementations (type systems, operational semantics, interpreters, compilers, etc.)
Exposure to Linux or Unix-like systems
Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Desired Qualifications:

Experience with Rocq, Lean, or similar proof assistant
Exposure to the Rust programming language
Exposure to proof techniques (progress and preservation, logical relations, separation logic, refinement, translation validation, symbolic execution, etc.)
Foundational knowledge of cybersecurity principles (non-interference, robust property preservation, etc.)
Experience with version control or other software collaboration tools

Global Comp

$20.00 - $30.00 This represents the typical compensation range for this position based on experience, location and other factors.

Closing Statement

Riverside Research Institute is a not-for-profit, technology-oriented defense company, where service to our customers and support of our staff is our overall mission. Riverside is an affirmative action-equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding recruitment and hiring. Riverside offers comprehensive compensation and benefit packages to our employees.
Riverside bases its employment decisions solely on technical experience, qualifications and other job-related criteria related to our organizational purpose as a not-for-profit company, and without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, veteran's status or any other status legally protected by applicable federal, state, and local law.