Cyber Security Research Placement (12.5 months)

at  Airbus Operations Limited

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Start date: Summer 2025
Location: Newport
Duration: 12.5 months
Application closing date: We encourage you to apply early to avoid missing out on this opportunity! Please note we will close adverts as soon as we receive sufficient applications.

ABOUT US:

Are you interested in working with leading experts to protect Airbus against an ever evolving cyber threat? The Airbus cyber innovation team leads Airbus’ global cyber innovation programme, developing new and exciting security solutions to some of the biggest cybersecurity threats faced in the aerospace and defence sector today.
We are a team of cybersecurity experts in a diverse set of areas including cyberpsychology, smart manufacturing (IoT and industrial control systems), cloud and network security, cyber risk, digital forensics, cryptography, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Each member of our team focuses on one of these areas and you are not expected to know about all of them! We are looking for interns with a strong sense of curiosity. a desire to learn and willingness to contribute to ideas, experiments and prototype building.
We are passionate about our research areas and work to experiment with new cyber security concepts and technologies by building and testing prototypes. We often work on collaborative projects and publish our work at international conferences.
The wide range of expertise in the team and focus on new technologies and cybersecurity trends will provide a strong environment to develop understanding and technical skills of the key questions large organizations are asking today.

REQUIREMENTS:

Our placements are open to Undergraduates only . Therefore it is mandatory for candidates to be an undergraduate for the whole duration of the placement. Please inform your graduation date on your application.
Please ensure you include your CV and a cover letter for your application to be considered.

Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate the following:

• Studying towards a degree in Cyber Security, Computer Science, Computing, or equivalent;
• Nice to have studied modules in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cryptography, Data Science, Secure Software Development, Risk Management, Cybersecurity Law, Cyber Psychology, Security Architecture, Cybersecurity of Operational Technology (OT) / SCADA, Cloud Security, Network Security, Offensive & Defensive Security, and/or Security Monitoring.

Technical

Any practical skills and experience with the some of the following will be helpful:

• A range of OSs such as Redhat, Ubuntu, Kali Linux, Android;
• Cisco R&S, VLANs, firewalls, Wireshark, Nmap;
• Protocols including TCP/IP, MODBUS, Profinet, CIP, S7, Zigbee, CANBUS, Bluetooth;
• Vulnerability scanning applications such as Nessus, Splunk;
• Metasploit, IDS signatures, Intrusion Detection Systems;
• Web application pentest tools such as Burp Suite;
• John the Ripper, Cain & Abel;
• Encase, Autopsy, The Sleuth Kit, FTK, X-Ways, HxD;
• Python, C++, Java, R.

Behavioral

As the successful candidate, you must be able to demonstrate the following;

• The ability to listen, understand and communicate information;
• Professional level of written and speaking English skills;
• Other languages are a bonus;
• The desire to work in a technical team environment;
• A strong interest in developing yourself both technically and personally;
• An interest in finding and developing creative solutions to complex problems;
• Ability to work relatively autonomously with minimal supervision;
• Natural curiosity to discover new things and explore new avenues;
• Willingness to travel and engage with people both internally and externally including France and Germany.

SECURITY CLEARANCE: Eligibility to gain UK SC Security Clearance OR You will be subject to a BPSS check (including a criminal record check).

EXPERIENCE LEVEL:

Student

During your placement, you will undertake cutting edge digital security research and innovation activities under the guidance of experienced innovators and subject matter experts, to develop solutions to Airbus’ cybersecurity innovation needs.

As part of the Cyber Innovation Team you will:

• Contribute to ongoing and new research projects;
• Learn about the complex and upcoming needs of a large organisation;
• Work with a range of teams within the business to develop new innovations;
• Collaborate with universities across the world;
• Get involved in scouting the market for new cybersecurity technologies and assessing their capabilities;
• Write internal technical reports and contribute to papers published at leading cybersecurity conferences;
• And potentially travel to other Airbus sites, events and academic conferences across Europe.