2025 Internship - Cyber Security Penetration Testing

2 0 2 5 I n t e r n s h i p - C y b e r S e c u r i t y P e n e t r a t i o n T e s t i n g

Internship Mountain View, CA

How you will make 10x impact:

Supporting Penetration Testing Engagements (Under Supervision): Assisting senior penetration testers with specific, guided tasks during an engagement. This could include performing basic reconnaissance (e.g., open-source intelligence gathering), configuring testing tools, taking detailed notes, helping to organize findings, or testing for very specific, well-known low-level vulnerabilities as directed.

Assisting with Vulnerability Scanning and Initial Analysis: Running pre-configured vulnerability scans (using tools like Nessus, OpenVAS, or similar) against designated systems or networks. They might perform initial sorting or categorization of the findings based on severity, identify obvious false positives, and prepare preliminary summaries for review by senior staff.

Vulnerability and Exploit Research: Researching newly discovered vulnerabilities relevant to the organization's technology stack. They might investigate potential exploits associated with these vulnerabilities, understand their potential impact, and summarize findings for the team. This helps them understand the theoretical side of penetration testing.

Contributing to Documentation and Reporting: Assisting in documenting the results of vulnerability scans or specific findings from penetration tests. This could involve drafting sections of reports, creating summaries of findings, documenting remediation steps suggested by senior staff, or maintaining documentation for security tools.

Practicing in Lab Environments and Tool Familiarization: Utilizing sandboxed lab environments (like CTF platforms or dedicated virtual labs) to safely practice penetration testing techniques and tools learned during training. This helps them hone their skills, experiment with different tools (Metasploit, Burp Suite basics, Nessus, Nmap, etc.), and better understand attack vectors without risking production systems.

This project aims to push the limits of science and modeling as we know them and to prove how ML can radically accelerate our understanding of the world

• Location: X's headquarters in Mountain View, CA
• Start Date(s): Year-round rolling basis
• Duration: a flexible 4 mo. to 1 year program based on project team needs and your availability

Throughout your AI Residency you can expect:

• To be embedded into one of our confidential or public X projects
• To get paid competitively and receive benefits
• To be a part of a lively community of AI and ML Residents
• To attend tech-talks with AI leaders from across X

What you should have:

• Currently enrolled in an Undergrad or Masters program in a field such as cyber security, computer science, information technology, or related fields.
• Completed coursework in at least one national security or cyber security topic.
• Obtained at least one of the following certifications:
  • CompTIA PenTest+
  • CompTIA Security+
  • EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
  • GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN)
  • GIAC Web Application Penetration Tester (GWAPT)
  • INE Certified Junior Penetration Tester (eJPT)

It'd be great if you also had these:

• Publicly-verifiable participation in at least one capture-the-flag (CTF) exercise.

Additional public information :

https://www.wired.com/video/watch/astro-teller-captain-of-moonshots-at-x-speaks-at-wired25

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2019-10-10/alphabet-x-s-astro-teller-on-bloomberg-studio-1-0-video

PLEASE NOTE:

This role requires exposure to technologies subject to heightened controls under US export laws. Due to our immediate need to fill this role and the lengthy process required to obtain export licenses, we will not be able to move forward with anyone requiring a license for such technologies . This applies to individuals ineligible for license exception "TSR" (commonly described as "controlled-country nationals") under the US Commerce Department's Export Administration Regulations . As of July 2018, a controlled country national is anyone who is a national of one of the following countries ( excluding US green card holders and US citizens with dual citizenship ): Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Cuba, the People's Republic of China, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Libya, Macau, Moldova, Mongolia, North Korea, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam . Please review up-to-date information about the Commerce Department's export regulations, including the current list of countries, here .

The US base salary range for this full-time position is between $118,000 - $122,000 + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include benefits.

An Equal Opportunity Workplace

At X, we don't just accept difference - we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products and our community. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact us at x-accommodation-request@x.team .