Associate X-Force Cyber Range Consultant Intern 2026

Introduction

Launched in 2016, the IBM X-Force Cyber Range engages non-technical executive audiences in immersive cyber crisis scenarios. Our engagements help organizations pinpoint gaps and robust points in their reaction capabilities, enabling them to refine their strategies and cultivate a more resilient security mindset.

A typical non-technical engagement gets the heart racing. We pull in different immersive elements to add pressure, an aspect often omitted in traditional tabletops. Participants need to respond to realistic phone calls, prioritize the different incidents at hand, collaborate with team members, talk to the "media", and in general, react to a lifelike cyber crisis. Our technical experiences focus on cross-team collaboration between hands-on investigators and executive teams. The technical analysts must relay their findings efficiently to business teams so they can mitigate any operational impacts.

So, what are we looking for in an intern? We are seeking someone who is:

• Curious and willing to ask questions, learn new skills and grow current ones
• Creative and able to come up with unique solutions for tough challenges
• Interested in cybersecurity, especially from a business perspective
• Passionate about storytelling, new tools and technology, and explaining the technical in a down-to-earth way
• Interested in how threat actors exploit generative AI for social engineering

Your role and responsibilities

During your internship, you can enhance your knowledge and gain professional experience by working on client projects. This role provides an exceptional opportunity to acquire new skills, gain insights into diverse industries, and embrace novel challenges for your future career.

At IBM, we prioritize continuous learning, skill development, and personal growth within a culture of coaching and mentorship. As an intern, you'll experience this culture and could advance to our full-time Associates program based on results and performance

Work experiences you could be exposed to:

• Work in conjunction with the X-Force Cyber Range team on immersive elements or add-ons to offerings such as our deepfake pipeline and content development
• Research real-world cyberattacks and create engaging case studies for client engagements
• Create and develop technical demos to illustrate technical cybersecurity concerns to an executive audience; these may include operational technology virtualizations or attack flows
• Assist with the X-Force Cyber Range team to create the best possible experience for clients by helping day-of engagement support, demonstrating professionalism and client-focused approach
• Encouraged to think creatively and develop innovative ideas that enhance the immersion and impact for a memorable client experience

Required education

High School Diploma/GED

Preferred education

Bachelor's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

• Currently pursuing a university degree with a track-record of academic success
• Proficient in the Microsoft Office Suite
• Must possess curious, creative, and meticulous attention to detail
• Understanding of different Operating Systems and potential security vulnerabilities
• Knowledge of Python and Machine Learning
• Ability to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues that may arise during research
• Basic competency in video and audio editing
• Excellent writing and editing skills

Preferred technical and professional experience

• Previous experience in cybersecurity
• Experience in Adobe Creative Cloud products such as Photoshop, Illustrator, PremierePro
• Knowledge of Powershell, Bash, and Linux
• Understanding of AI, Text-to-Speech, and Speech-to-Text technologies

These positions are anticipated to begin in summer 2026. We have positions open in Washington, D.C.

ABOUT BUSINESS UNIT

IBM Consulting is IBM's consulting and global professional services business, with market leading capabilities in business and technology transformation. With deep expertise in many industries, we offer strategy, experience, technology, and operations services to many of the most innovative and valuable companies in the world. Our people are focused on accelerating our clients' businesses through the power of collaboration. We believe in the power of technology responsibly used to help people, partners and the planet.

YOUR LIFE @ IBM

In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.

Being an IBMer means you'll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you'll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.

Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.

Are you ready to be an IBMer?

ABOUT IBM

IBM's greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.

Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we're also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 500 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.

At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it's time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

IBM is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

Supplemental 1 employees may be eligible for up to 8 paid holidays, minimum of 56 hours paid sick time and the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan. IBM offers paid family medical leave and disability benefits to eligible employees where required by applicable law.
This position was posted on the date cited in the key job details section and is anticipated to remain posted for 21 days from this date or less if not needed to fill the role.
We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.

The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full-time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job-related skills, experience and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start working during the calendar year.