Software Engineer Internship (6 months)

Internship: Software Engineering Intern – Post-Quantum Cryptography

Duration: 6 months

Location: Paris, Oxford, Remote

PQShield is a highly innovative deep tech start-up that specialises in post-quantum cryptography and cybersecurity. Our mission is to innovate and create solutions for the world's most imminent security challenge: quantum computers.

Here at PQShield, we understand our people are the most important factor in driving our success. Therefore, our core value is to provide them with a work environment that promotes personal and professional growth. Hard work and loyalty are always met with acknowledgement, appreciation and reward.

💼 What you’ll be doing

We are looking for a motivated Software Engineering Intern to help integrate and benchmark our post-quantum cryptographic libraries—PQCryptoLib, PQSDK, and PQCryptoLib-Embedded—with high-level software solutions. This internship provides a hands-on opportunity to explore integration scenarios with VPN providers, databases, and other open-source and proprietary software, demonstrating how our cryptographic solutions can enhance security and performance.

The goal is to create compelling use cases that showcase our technology to prospects and customers, while also identifying areas for improvement through benchmarking and analysis of existing open-source solutions.

⚒️ What you’ll be doing

• Develop integration scenarios using PQCryptoLib, PQSDK, and PQCryptoLib-Embedded with high-level applications (e.g., VPNs, databases, security frameworks).
• Work with both open-source and proprietary software to explore real-world use cases.
• Conduct benchmarking and performance analysis, computing relevant figures to compare and optimize cryptographic performance.
• Identify gaps and areas of improvement in our libraries based on practical integration experiences.
• Contribute to technical documentation and demonstrations for internal teams and customers.
• Collaborate with R&D engineers to derisk future developments by validating real-world feasibility.

🎯 Skills and Qualifications:

• Currently pursuing or recently completed a Master’s degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Software Engineering, or a related field.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as C, C++, and Python.
• Familiarity with cryptographic principles and security protocols.
• Experience working with Linux environments and open-source software.
• Knowledge of network security (VPNs, TLS, databases) is a plus.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with an ability to interpret benchmarking results.
• Interest in post-quantum cryptography and secure software development.
• Flexible and able to work well in a team
• Strong written and spoken English

✅ What you’ll be doing: 

• Integration Demonstrations – Successfully integrate PQCryptoLib, PQSDK, or PQCryptoLib-Embedded into at least two high-level software applications and develop proof-of-concept (PoC) use cases.
• Benchmarking & Analysis – Conduct performance benchmarks, compare with open-source alternatives, and identify areas for optimization.
• Documentation & Knowledge Sharing – Produce integration guides, a summary report with key findings, and present results to the team.
• Strategic Impact – Support future developments and customer engagement by validating real-world use cases.

📌 Internship requirements:

• Access to binaries of PQCryptoLib, PQCryptoLib-Embedded, PQSDK
• Access to the benchmarking tool provided by the interns
• Access to public resources containing PQC software implementations
• Access to Gitlab to store developments

⚒️ What you’ll gain:

• Hands-on experience in post-quantum cryptographic software integration.
• Exposure to real-world security applications and industry use cases.
• Opportunity to work with cutting-edge cryptographic technology.
• Mentorship and collaboration with senior engineers and security experts.
• Exposure with different profiles with different background as marketing, sales, engineering, management.

🏆 Some of the perks of working with us:

• Unparalleled opportunities to learn and accelerate career development.
• A collaborative, team environment with people who truly love what they do.
• 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays and two wellness weeks).
• The chance to join us on this exciting adventure as we enter the Quantum-era of technology.