About This Position
Make an impact while you learn. The Semester of Service Program offers students a volunteer project-based opportunity to support Federal missions, gaining hands-on experience & valuable career-ready skills. Students must be enrolled at least half-time in an accredited trade school, technical or vocational institute, junior college, college, university, or other accredited educational institution, & participation must be with the permission of the institution at which the student is enrolled.
Qualifications
Applicants will be considered based on their knowledge, skills or abilities related to project needs. Specifically, applicants should have: Understanding of AI/machine learning concepts Ability to design experiments and analyze results Programming language such as Python preferred.
Major Duties
This vacancy announcement will be open from May 13, 2026 to May 19, 2026 or when 25 applications have been received. The vacancy will close on whichever day the first of these conditions are met. If the application limit is reached on the same day the announcement opened, the open and close date will be the same.
Candidates are encouraged to read the entire announcement before submitting their application packages. Project Description This project supports the Office of Technology Innovation and Engineering by assisting with the development of a structured, repeatable threat modeling and threat indexing capability for integration into cybersecurity assessments. The student volunteer will help refine the Threat Disruption Index (TDI), map threats to safeguards, and support the modernization of the current Cybersecurity Assessment framework through structured data analysis, research, and the application of cybersecurity concepts. β’ Assist in developing, validating, and refining the Threat Disruption Index (TDI) model, including likelihood, exposure, exploit pressure, and impact scoring into the Cybersecurity Assessment application. β’ Conduct research on MITRE ATT&CK techniques, known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs), and cyber threat actors to support threat categorization. β’ Support mapping of threats to safeguards using structured taxonomies (e.g., Cybersecurity Risk Foundation (CRF) Threat Taxonomy and CRF Safeguards). β’ Analyze cybersecurity assessment data to identify gaps, trends, and prioritize findings for remediation. β’ Assist in building documentation, job aids, or visualizations that integrate the threat index into assessment workflows.
Conditions of Employment
Conditions of employment To participate in this Program, you must: Must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S National studying in the U.S. Students studying abroad are ineligible for application. All remote work must be completed domestic within the United States. Be enrolled not less than half-time in an accredited trade school, technical or vocational institute, junior college, college, university, or other accredited educational institution. Be in good academic standing as defined by your institution. Commit to volunteering 8 β 20 hours per week for a minimum of 90 days.
Complete all required onboarding documentation assigned by the Federal agency and your academic institution. Agree to volunteer.
This position is unpaid. No compensation, stipends, or hiring preference will be granted from this work.
You may use this volunteer experience to qualify for future jobs you choose to apply for. Agree to understanding volunteers are not Federal employees. Must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 out of 4.0 scale.
Education
To qualify, you must be enrolled not less than half-time in an accredited trade school, technical or vocational institute, junior college, college, university, or other accredited educational institution. You also must be in good academic standing as defined by your institution. Attach a copy of your transcripts to your application package for verification.
Prefer students be pursuing or have completed degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or related field Students must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 out of 4.0 scale. Students studying abroad are ineligible for application. All remote work must be completed domestic within the United States.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your application will be evaluated by Department of State personnel to determine your eligibility for the position and your application will be forwarded to the project manager for review.
You may preview questions for this vacancy.
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. β’ To begin, click Apply to access the online application.
You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. β’ Follow the prompts to select your reΜsumeΜ and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package.
You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted.
Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. β’ After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. β’ You will be taken to the online application which you must complete to apply for the position.
Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov/), all your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes: 1.
Your resume (two or fewer pages) showing: β’ Your work experience to include start and end dates. β’ Education information, such as the name of your school and dates of attendance. β’ Any knowledge, skills or abilities youΚΌve gained through education that relate to the project.
- Proof of current enrollment not less than half-time in a trade school, technical or vocational institute, junior college, college, university, or other accredited educational institution.