Leidos Internship 2027–2028: Programs, Deadlines & How to Apply

Last updated: August 2026

Leidos hosted nearly 900 summer interns from 290 colleges in its 2025 class, a program it has more than tripled since 2016, and says 90% of its interns receive positions or return for another internship. The twist for 2027–2028: the first wave has already come and gone. Leidos posted at least five intern reqs between mid-July and early August 2026, including one explicitly for a summer 2027 start, and all closed within weeks. And community-reported pay centers on roughly $28 an hour.

Quick Facts

The two things to know: Leidos posts intern reqs in short bursts (the summer-2027 wave started in July 2026 and all five confirmed reqs closed within two to five weeks), and most roles require U.S. citizenship and a security clearance before your start date, not during the internship.

Externships are short, remote programs where you finish a real project with a real company. The Hydroficient IoT Cyber Defense Externship builds cybersecurity and secure-systems evidence that a cleared employer's req rewards, and the Wayfair AI Agent Engineering Externship turns programming skills into a shipped AI project. Explore all Externships.

What Is a Leidos Internship?

A Leidos internship is a paid placement where you work on a team on critical projects, either at a Leidos facility or on a customer site. Leidos ($17.2 billion FY2025 revenue, 47,000 employees, NYSE: LDOS) is one of the largest defense, intelligence and IT services contractors in the U.S., headquartered in Reston, Virginia. Two official tracks exist: a summer internship and an academic-year co-op. But this isn't a single-application program. Leidos posts function-specific requisitions by business area, so you apply to a role in Intel/CABA, Defense Systems, the Digital sector, or Health & Civil, not to "the Leidos internship."

When Do Leidos Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?

Leidos doesn't run one annual window. It posts intern requisitions in bursts, function by function, each open for days to a few weeks. And Leidos' own board tells students opportunities "change daily." Every req carries a stated floor: it'll remain open for "at least 3 days" after the original posting date. The summer-2027 wave started in mid-July 2026; by mid-August all five confirmed reqs had closed.

How to read this page: our dates come from tracking previous recruiting cycles and daily posting data. Treat them as informed estimates based on historical patterns, not confirmed dates. The company's official careers page is always the most current source. If a role is posted there, go by that, even if this page suggests the window hasn't opened yet.

Why You Must Apply the Week Applications Open

Every Leidos intern requisition states it will remain open "for at least 3 days" after the original posting date. That's the published floor. In practice, the five summer-2027 reqs posted between 13 July and 29 July 2026 all closed by 15 August, windows of roughly two to five weeks. What happens if you wait? There's no benefit to a polished application submitted three weeks after a req appears, because there's nothing to submit it to. And Leidos' own board says opportunities "change daily".

Which Leidos Internship Programs Should You Target?

Leidos doesn't run a handful of named programs. So it posts function-specific intern requisitions across its four reporting segments, plus an academic-year co-op track. Which should you target? The one whose eligibility gates you can clear, because the clearance and citizenship requirements vary more across these tracks than the skills do.

See the full list on the official intern board. Or check the intern and new-grad landing page for current awards and recognition.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements?

Eligibility, not GPA and not skills, is what disqualifies most Leidos applicants. Sending a student at a role they can't legally hold is the worst failure mode here, so read this section first:

• U.S. citizenship: required on 6 of the 10 Leidos intern JDs we read, concentrated in defense, intelligence and cyber roles. The Digital-sector and internal-IT intern reqs are where the exceptions live.

• Security clearance: 8 of 10 JDs carry a clearance requirement, ranging from Public Trust to TS/SCI with Polygraph. Most say "ability to obtain," not "must already hold." But the clearance must land before your start date, not during the internship.

• GPA: a 3.0 minimum appears in only 2 of 10 JDs (the Reston co-op and the Cyber Software Design intern). One asks you to note your GPA on your resume. So it's not a universal gate.

• Degree fields named across the JD set: Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Cybersecurity, IT, Design, HCI.

Does Leidos Require a Security Clearance for Interns?

For most roles, yes. Eight of the ten Leidos intern job descriptions we read carry a clearance requirement. The sharpest version is in the CABA Software Developer Intern req: the TS/SCI with Polygraph must be obtained before your start date, and the investigation includes an in-person interview in Maryland at the intern's own expense. But Leidos also publishes a no-clearance-required filter: 573 of its 2,574 open roles carried no clearance gate in August 2026. So "Leidos means clearance" is an overstatement, even if it's true of most technical intern reqs.

What Skills Does Leidos Look For, and How Do You Build Them?

Ten Leidos intern JDs, read in full and deduplicated by requisition, sketch an employer that prizes communication and teamwork above any single programming language. Written and verbal communication and cross-functional teamwork each appear in 8 of 10. And programming in Python, Java, C++ or C# follows at 7 of 10. But what makes Leidos' chart distinctive isn't the top two generic bars; it's the middle of the list: cybersecurity fundamentals in 5, databases in 5, AI/ML and modeling in 5, and test and verification in 5. The function-specific requirements are sharper still: CUDA and Kalman filtering in Defense Systems, Amazon Connect and Lambda in the Digital sector, Rust and golang in cyber research, Cameo Systems Modeler in SEIT.

How Is Demand for Software Engineering Interns Moving Right Now?

Build These Skills Before You Apply

Every bar in the chart maps to a remote Externship that ends in a finished company project. No Externship can substitute for a security clearance, but these build the transferable evidence Leidos' reqs actually reward.

So what can you actually build without a clearance? Extern has no cleared, defense or government externship in the active catalog, and no externship can substitute for a security clearance. But what these programs build is the transferable evidence Leidos' reqs reward: documented project work, written status reporting, cross-functional collaboration, and named tooling. And that matters during the months you spend waiting for the next req burst.

What Is the Leidos Application and Interview Process Like?

Leidos' interview process is lighter than most big-tech loops:

1. Check your eligibility first. Are you a U.S. citizen? Can you obtain a clearance? If not, start from Leidos' no-clearance-required filter: 573 of 2,574 open roles in August 2026.

2. Watch the board and set an alert. careers.leidos.com/pages/intern-jobs, plus the "Create a Job Alert" widget. Leidos' own board says opportunities "change daily."

3. Pick a function, not "the program." There's no umbrella application. Reqs are per business area: Intel/CABA, Defense Systems, Digital, Health & Civil, Commercial & International.

4. Apply within days of the req appearing. Every req states it stays open "at least 3 days."

5. Recruiter screen, then technical interview. Glassdoor's Leidos intern aggregate (n=20): difficulty 2.7/5, 70% positive experience, average 27 days application to hire. Community reports describe OOP fundamentals and simple array manipulation, not hard LeetCode, with heavy resume-depth questioning.

6. Clearance processing. This is the long pole. For TS/SCI-with-Poly roles it includes an in-person interview in Maryland at your own expense. The clearance must complete before your start date.

And no standardized online assessment was found in any source. How candidates got the interview: 54% applied online, 31% campus recruiting, 8% recruiter, 8% referral (Glassdoor intern aggregate).

What Students on Reddit Say

Three threads, from people who've been through it.

How Do You Stand Out at a Defense Contractor That Hires 900 Interns?

Three moves, starting with the gate. Clear your eligibility before you spend effort on the resume: eight of ten Leidos intern reqs require a security clearance and six require U.S. citizenship. Leidos publishes a no-clearance-required filter, and 573 of its 2,574 open roles were in it in August 2026. Second, apply within days. Every req states it stays open "at least 3 days," and reqs posted in mid-to-late July 2026 were all gone by 15 August. So what closes the gap after that? Third, match the function's tooling and note your GPA. The Digital sector names AWS Lambda and API Gateway; Defense Systems names MATLAB and CUDA; CABA names Java first. And one req asks outright: "Please note your GPA on your resume."

What Other Companies Should You Consider?

Leidos' peers are the clearance-gated defense and IT services employers, where eligibility gates matter as much as skills.

For more in tech, see our Tech Internships Summer 2027 Guide.

FAQ

Can I still apply for a summer 2026 Leidos internship?

No. The summer 2026 class is already on site. Leidos welcomed its interns in June. The next open cycle is summer 2027, and Leidos has already posted those requisitions: one Software Developer Intern req explicitly for a summer 2027 start went up on 29 July 2026 and closed within weeks.

When do Leidos internship applications open for summer 2027?

They already have, in bursts. Leidos posted at least five intern reqs between 13 July and 7 August 2026, including one for a summer 2027 start, and all had closed by mid-August. Expect further bursts through roughly March 2027. So set a job alert rather than waiting for a season.

Are Leidos internships rolling?

No, they're short windows. Leidos states on every req that it "will remain open for at least 3 days" with no published deadline. Reqs posted in mid-to-late July 2026 were all gone by 15 August. Apply within days of a posting appearing, and check the board weekly.

Do you need US citizenship for a Leidos internship?

Usually, but not always. "US Citizenship required" appeared in 6 of the 10 Leidos intern job descriptions we read, concentrated in the defense, intelligence and cyber roles. But some Digital-sector and internal-IT intern reqs state no citizenship requirement. So always check the Basic Qualifications block on the specific req.

Do Leidos interns need a security clearance?

Eight of ten Leidos intern JDs require one, ranging from Public Trust to TS/SCI with Polygraph. Most say "ability to obtain," not "must already hold." But the clearance must be granted before your start date, and one req notes the investigation includes an in-person interview in Maryland at the intern's own expense.

How much do Leidos interns get paid?

Community data puts Leidos interns around $28 an hour: levels.fyi reports a $28.00 median across 23 submissions and Indeed reports $28.26 for software engineering interns. Leidos' own postings list annualized job-level guideline bands of $48,100 to $86,950, which it calls a guideline only, not an intern salary.

What is the Leidos intern interview process like?

Lighter than most big-tech loops. Glassdoor's Leidos intern aggregate rates difficulty 2.7 out of 5 with 70% positive experiences and an average 27 days from application to hire. And students report behavioural interviews with light technical content, focused on OOP fundamentals and resume depth rather than hard algorithm questions.

Do Leidos interns get return offers?

Leidos says 90% of its interns "receive positions or return for another internship." But that's its own combined wording, which counts a second internship as a success, so it's not a stand-alone conversion rate. And Leidos doesn't publish one separately. But it also reported more than 450 recent graduates accepting full-time roles in 2025.

There's no single deadline to circle, just short bursts of per-function reqs that open and close in days to weeks. Set a Leidos job alert now, resolve the citizenship and clearance question now. And fill the gap with proof: a remote Externship turns "I can code" into a finished company project a week-one application can point at.