Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. (SPA) delivers high-impact, technical solutions to complex national security issues. With over 50 years of business expertise and consistent growth, we are known for continuous innovation for our government customers, in both the US and abroad. Our exceptionally talented team is highly collaborative in spirit and practice, producing Results that Matter. Come work with the best! We offer opportunity, unique challenges, and clear-sighted commitment to the mission. SPA: Objective. Responsive. Trusted.  

The Joint, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Interagency Division provides expert support services to a range of customers spanning across the Department of Defense, Federal Civilian, and international markets. JOID provides a diverse portfolio of analytical and programmatic capabilities to help our customers make informed decisions on their most challenging issues.

Group W provides wargaming, warfare modeling and simulation, software development, data analytics, and operations research/system analysis support to the national security mission. As a leader in the fields of campaign, mission, and wargaming analysis we embrace the cycle of research paradigm, continually seeking to improve the multi-method application of tools, data, methods, and techniques to generate credible and resilient insights to inform decisions on the Department’s most challenging issues spanning CONOPs, acquisitions, force structures, tactics, and strategies. Group W is the developer and maintainer of the Synthetic Theater Operations Research Model (STORM), the authoritative M&S tool accepted by the Joint Analytic Community for analysis of theater-level, multi-domain, joint warfare. Similarly, we developed and manage the Standard Wargame Integration and Facilitation Tool (SWIFT) for OSW as an adaptable environment to support joint force combatants’ wargaming requirements.

We have a near-term need for a Data Science Intern to provide onsite support out of Vienna, VA.

SPA seeks a passionate, versatile, data science minded summer intern to join a high-performance team working to address some of the most critical issues facing the DoW today. The Data Science Team will work with the Intern to define a project aligned with their interests but intended to enhance their data science skills and capabilities. The Data Science Intern will get hands-on experience with advanced data science techniques and tools, git & GitLab for version control, Docker & Kubernetes for cloud-native deployment, MS Azure for cloud infrastructure, and Python and JavaScript for source code. Projects could include training/tuning a semantic search engine model to provide better responses to specific subject matter inquiries (e.g. DoW, campaign modeling); geospatial analysis and visualization of campaign modeling and simulation model outputs; developing an analytic model that predicts simulation model outcomes or identifies anomalies during a simulation model run; and AI application that can generate a response of potential courses of action an adversary may undertake given a user-provided scenario or current event.

• Applications can be submitted and will be reviewed on a rolling basis through January 2026.
• Interviews will be scheduled on a rolling basis through February 2026.
• Offers/decisions will be extended on a rolling basis following interviews.
• Internship term will run from approximately late May or early June through August—though flexibility based on class schedule is possible.

Required:

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master's degree in an applied science or quantitative related field such as data science, mathematics, physics, computer science, statistics, or operations research
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, demonstrated multitasking skills, and the ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team
• Interest in applying quantitative and analytic skills in support of national defense
• U.S. Citizen with the ability to obtain a DoW Top Secret clearance
• Able to work fully onsite

Desired:

• Coursework or projects that relate to requirement definition and problem solving
• Passion for building tools that help people understand, analyze, and visualize complex data sets
• Academic coursework, experience, or research with one or more of the following: Python, Java, R, SQL, PL/SQL, C++
• Ability to create meaningful visualizations from data
• Active DoW Secret clearance or higher