Internship Cybersecurity: Post-Quantum Cryptography Lab

ELCA Security is a subsidiary of the ELCA Group. With more than 15 years of expertise, several key solution partners and hundreds of completed cybersecurity projects, ELCA Security's mission is to serve any company or public organization in terms of anticipation (strategic security consulting), protection (secure architecture and encryption), detection (endpoint monitoring) and defense (incident response).

In this internship, with planned start September 2026, your mission will be to help future-proof ELCA's infrastructure by building and benchmarking a fully functional Post-Quantum Cryptography lab (hands-on, from PKI architecture to encrypted traffic analysis) before quantum computers make today's security obsolete.

Your responsibilities

• You will dive into the world of post-quantum cryptography and familiarize yourself with current standards (FIPS 203/204/205) and their implications for existing IT infrastructures
• Together with the team, you will build a playground infrastructure with a hybrid X.509 PKI architecture (Root CA, Intermediate CA, Leaf Certificates), using both classical ECC and post-quantum secure algorithms (ML-DSA and/or SLH-DSA)
• You will support the implementation and configuration of Merkle Tree Certificates (MTCs) as part of the PKI infrastructure
• You will contribute to the deployment of post-quantum secure communication using TLS 1.3 and SSH protocol stacks within the playground environment
• You will assist in the development of automated PCAP-based tools for capturing and analyzing network traffic
• Supported by the team, you will conduct performance benchmarks and compare classical and post-quantum configurations in terms of traffic overhead and latency
• You will analyze measurement results and help prepare and visualize insights on the performance overhead of different PQC protocols
• You will document the developed infrastructure, benchmarking methodology, and results in a clear and reproducible manner

Our offer

• A dynamic work and collaborative environment with a highly motivated multi-cultural and international sites team
• Mentorship from an experienced team
• A stimulating and collaborative environment

Your profile

• Completed Bachelor’s or Master’s degree (ETH, university, FH) in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or a related field
• You have practical software engineering experience and are eager to learn new tools and environments
• You are familiar with fundamental cryptographic concepts: you understand when and why symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, signatures, and MACs are used
• You have initial hands-on experience with the Linux terminal and are willing to improve your Linux knowledge 
• You enjoy working independently, think analytically, and are driven to get to the root of problems
• Fluent English skills (spoken and written), as well as professional proficiency in German or French
• Experience with Ansible, Docker, or similar automation tools is a plus, but not required

We believe in strong values and are convinced that diversity is the key to success. If you approach challenges with curiosity, motivation, and drive, you are exactly the kind of person we are looking for! Be inspired by our motto: We make it work!