Summer 2026 Research Internship at Symbolic Software

Symbolic Software is looking for a research intern to join us for the summer of 2026. This is a hands-on position: you will co-author papers with me, Nadim Kobeissi, on real-world cryptography, with a focus on designing new secure constructions that address open problems in today’s state-of-the-art cryptographic applications.

I already have specific, concrete research projects and I want you to help me turn them into solid papers and artifacts that we can publish at strong conferences.

What We’re Working On

The research agenda centers on the gap between cryptographic theory and deployed systems. Cryptographic applications today—secure messaging, authenticated key exchange, post-quantum migration, end-to-end encrypted media—rely on constructions that were often designed under assumptions that no longer hold, or that leave meaningful security properties on the table. The world is constantly revolving, and from this chaos, chaos, we want to re-resolve the facts into a new understanding of the state of the art.

Concretely, the internship will involve working on new papers that propose, formalize, and analyze cryptographic constructions addressing real problems in real systems. This means:

• Identifying concrete shortcomings in cryptographic constructions used by deployed applications today.
• Designing new constructions that improve on the state of the art—whether that means stronger security guarantees, better efficiency, or cleaner compositional properties.
• Writing security proofs and building formal or semi-formal arguments for why the new constructions achieve their claimed properties.
• Producing publication-ready papers targeting top-tier venues in applied cryptography and security.

The specific problems we tackle will depend in part on your interests and strengths, but the common thread is practical relevance: we are not interested in constructions that exist only to be proven secure. We want constructions that people will actually deploy.

Who Should Apply

You should be a graduate student (Master’s or PhD) in cryptography, computer science, or a related field—or an exceptional undergraduate with demonstrated research ability. What matters most:

• Strong foundations in cryptography. You should be comfortable with standard security definitions, reduction-based proofs, and the landscape of modern cryptographic primitives. If you’ve taken a graduate-level cryptography course and found it straightforward, that’s a good sign.
• Interest in real-world systems. The best candidates will have genuine curiosity about how cryptography is actually used—and misused—in practice. If you’ve ever read a protocol specification and spotted something that bothered you, we should talk.
• Writing ability. Research papers require clear, precise writing. You don’t need to have published before, but you should be able to communicate technical ideas effectively in English.
• Self-direction. This is a small team. You’ll have guidance and close collaboration, but you should be capable of reading papers independently, formulating questions, and pursuing ideas without constant oversight.
• Intellectual honesty. Most especially, I’m looking for candidates that are honest about their work, how it’s conducted, and who are able to examine both third-party systems and their own research output critically.

Prior publications are a plus but not required. What matters is that you can think clearly about cryptographic problems and are motivated to produce work that has real impact.

Details

• Duration: Summer 2026 (approximately 3 months, with flexibility on exact dates).
• Location: Remote. Candidates within anywhere that is around the Paris, France time zone are preferred.
• Compensation: Paid internship. Details discussed during the application process.

How to Apply

Send an email to [email protected] with:

1. Your CV or resume.
2. A brief note (a few paragraphs is fine) on why this internship interests you and what kinds of cryptographic problems you find compelling.
3. Any relevant prior work—publications, thesis drafts, course projects, or open-source contributions.

No formal cover letter needed. Just be direct about who you are and what you want to work on. I already have specific, concrete research projects and I want you to help me turn them into solid papers and artifacts that we can publish at strong conferences.