Intern - Futures Lab (Fall 2025)

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a non-profit, bipartisan public policy organization established in 1962 to provide strategic insights and practical policy solutions to decision makers concerned with global security and prosperity. Over the years, it has grown to be one of the largest organizations of its kind, with a staff of some 250 employees, including more than 120 analysts working to address the changing dynamics of international security across the globe.

The Futures Lab is housed within the Defense and Security Department (DSD) at CSIS. Simply put, the mission of the lab is to generate products that are evidence based, use both qualitative and quantitative analysis to inform US policymakers decision-making process and impact US policy. The lab achieves this through independent research, convening experts from diverse backgrounds, and publishing robust reports with tailored policy recommendations that inform decision-making in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Each scholar in the lab is a first-generation graduate with a dedication to civil service. This grounds the research of the lab to provide an expansive view of strategic studies and national security. From cyber threats facing the federal enterprise to gender analysis under authoritarianism or quantitatively analyzing the impact of Russian firepower strikes, the work of the lab tries to encompass all facets of national/international security under public policy. The lab will at times engage in cross-team collaboration within the DSD, but most of the research and analysis is standalone and at the direction of Senior Fellow, Co-Founder and leader of the Futures Lab, Dr. Benjamin Jensen.

The CSIS Futures Lab seeks a motivated candidate for a full-time (35 hours per week), 10-week internship beginning in mid September 2025 (Fall). This will be an in-person position, located at our DC office. The research intern will carry out research (30%) and administrative tasks (60%) to support quantitative, administrative and general project functions. Qualified candidates will understand that no task will be too small nor too big to execute in support of the team.

Qualified candidates should have a demonstrated interest AND experience in data science, emerging technologies, strategic studies or state fragility. In addition they will also have a demonstrated interest AND experience in carryout administrative task like data entry, packet or document assembly for their principal investigator or any non-research tasks. Further, interns should expect to be an active participant in conducting research, taking notes at meetings, printing, facilitating crisis simulations and wargames, and conducting quantitative and qualitative data analysis with minimal supervision. This position requires an ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously and have a strong, independent work ethic. Most importantly, we are interested in any candidate who is passionate about our research, willing to learn new skills, and strives to contribute and implement new ideas. Again, no task is too small and since the portfolio is split leaning into the administrative side, candidates must understand that their role is not uniquely research heavy.

Internships are seasonal and typically last three months (10 weeks) with the possibility of extension up to six months at the discretion of the program. Applicants should indicate available start and end dates in their cover letter.

The hired candidates will be paid hourly, commensurate with experience ($18.00/hour for current undergraduate hires, $19.00/hour for hires with a bachelor's degree, and $20.00/hour for hires with a master's degree).

Research interns bolster the team with a variety of core research and analytical skills. Essential functions may include, but are not limited to the following:

* Assisting with research and analysis, including data collection and management

* Data wrangling, cleaning, reshaping, modeling and presentation at the direction of their supervisor

* Copy-editing upcoming publications, filling out promotional material

* Printing and document assembly for table top exercises or wargames

* Note-taking and writing summaries of events and meetings

* Assisting with event planning and staffing, including drafting invitation letters, background research, drafting questions, and staffing events

* Various administrative duties such as printing, brewing coffee and event logistics

* Applicants must have recently graduated an undergraduate or master's program with at least a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) in any of the following: Political Science, International Relations/Affairs, Security Studies, Computational Social Sciences, Public Policy OR a minor/concentration/certification in the aforementioned studies including data analytics, computer science OR similar. Students with low academic constraints based in D.C. for the semester or quarter may also apply.

* Demonstrated experience proven by a work sample/publication in data analytics or advanced statistical analysis in either causal inference or Bayesian inference (IV, DiD, RDD, Fuzzy RDD, Fixed Effects, or quasi-experimental approaches)

* At least 3-4 research internship experiences for recent undergraduate candidates OR at least 1- 2 years of Full time, non-internship experiences for recent Master graduates. The lab seeks experienced candidates with foreign and security policy research.

* Experience in QGIS or GIS using R

* Intermediate R user familiar with the Tidyverse functions *without AI assistance*

* Strong written and verbal communication skills

* Ability to carry out tasks without ongoing oversight

* Demonstrated ability to conduct research and present information clearly and efficiently

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

* Intermediate to advanced R or Python user, dashboard creations in a shiny app or streamlit (R or Python), experience with virtual machines, greater than 80 gb datasets and tools (arrow, parallelization), AIS experience, GitHub repository management, API queries

* Experience with GIS/spatial analysis/geocomputation in R/Python or another open-source tool

* Experience in machine learning/statistical learning in R or Python with practical applications

* Experience in using program evaluation techniques with casual inference in a professional setting

The physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee working in an office environment. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

The use of any AI tools, including but not limited to ChatGPT, Bard, and Claude, is strictly prohibited for generating any application materials submitted or requested. This ensures proper representation of all candidates writing style, coding and analysis. There are 5 parts required for submission, the Futures Lab has a high standard, and we expect all candidates to submit each component, applications without all the requested materials shall not be reviewed and considered incomplete, PDF copies only. Please do not apply to this position without all the materials request below:

1. All academic transcripts from undergraduate to graduate level, clearly showing grades/pass/no pass, including from transfer institutions or non-degree credentials

2. CV/Resume,

o Applicants with 5 or less years of relevant experience must submit a 1-page resume

o Applicants with more than five years of relevant experience may submit their CV or a resume, limit of 10 pages

3. Cover letter

o All applicants must submit a cover letter that demonstrates their interest in and alignment with the role, the organization, and specifically the work of the CSIS Futures Lab. The cover letter should also use the Situation, Task, Action, Result (STAR) format to highlight prior experiences in a way that illustrates how those experiences are transferable and applicable to the position

4. One written publication, work sample or class paper to not exceeded 5 -8 pages single page or 15 pages double-spaced. This should showcase your writing skills, critical thinking analysis, can be written for an academic, technical or general audience.

5. One coding sample, R preferred in knitted PDF or quarto/rmd format with the code visible and written analysis or a pdf with instructions to download a github repo project that is public, cloneable and reproducible. This sample should showcase your coding skills, should be optimized, concise and showcase some sort of data wrangling, analysis and brief write up.