Sandia National Laboratories Internship 2027–2028: Programs, Deadlines & How to Apply

Last updated: October 2026

Sandia National Laboratories had 1,915 interns across its sites in 2023, 586 of them in the summer, and says more than 62% of eligible students converted to full-time jobs in 2022. On 3 October 2026, Sandia's own job feed listed 65 open intern requisitions: 37 summer roles, 27 year-round or co-op roles and one clerical role, nearly all in Albuquerque. Seven more posted on 1 October alone.

In plain words: you apply during fall 2026, and you intern in summer 2027. The catch is speed. Every Sandia intern req says it will stay open for "a minimum of three (3) calendar days," and none gives a closing date.

Quick Facts

Sandia's summer 2027 reqs have been posting since mid-August 2026 and are still arriving. There's no single deadline: each req can close a few days after it posts, so check the board weekly and apply the week a match appears.

Sandia's reqs ask for programming, data analysis and the ability to present results, and a finished project shows all three. Externships are short, remote programs where you complete a real project for a real company, most commonly over 8 weeks. The Hydroficient IoT Cyber Defense Externship fits the Center for Cyber Defenders and TITANS Cybersecurity reqs, and the Wayfair n8n AI Agent Engineering Externship fits the computing and machine learning roles. Explore all Externships.

What Is a Sandia National Laboratories Internship?

A Sandia internship is a paid research, technical or business placement at Sandia National Laboratories, the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration lab headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a second principal site in Livermore, California. Sandia is a federally funded research and development center operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, a Honeywell subsidiary, and works on nuclear deterrence, national security, energy and global security. Interns are hired by Sandia through its own careers system, not by Honeywell. Most join a named intern institute or team, such as MissionTech, the Computer Science Research Institute, TITANS or the Center for Cyber Defenders, and work on real deliverables with a staff mentor. Sandia's Student Intern Programs also run mentoring and an annual Intern Symposium where interns present their work.

When Do Sandia National Laboratories Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?

Sandia doesn't open one summer window. Its institutes post requisitions one at a time, and its job feed shows the summer 2027 wave building since 17 August 2026, when the first summer reqs (Nonlinear Mechanics and Dynamics) went up, with new ones still posting on 1 October. Titles don't carry a year, but a "Summer" req posted in this window is for summer 2027: the reqs ask that you be enrolled full time "in the spring term immediately preceding the internship." That's about nine months of lead time from the first postings to a May start. Applications for summer 2027 are open now and will keep appearing through the fall, including reqs tied to named campus events (FSU/FAMU, Alabama A&M, Florida A&M and Morgan State career fairs). The DOE SULI program, which Sandia hosts, runs on its own fixed calendar.

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

Sandia's urgency is short windows, not one deadline. Every one of the 65 intern reqs we read on 3 October says the posting "will be open for application submissions for a minimum of three (3) calendar days," and Sandia "reserves the right to extend." No req publishes a close date. A req can therefore come down days after it posts, and a student who checks the board once a month can miss a good match entirely.

It also pays to apply widely. Sandia's careers page says to apply to each job separately, and recruiters read resumes by hand on each posting. With 37 summer reqs open across a dozen institutes, two or three well-matched applications beat one.

Which Sandia National Laboratories Internship Programs Should You Target?

Sandia's internships run through named institutes and teams, each posting its own reqs. These are the main routes for summer 2027, with pay from Sandia's published rate sheet.

Requirements, pay rules and current openings are on Sandia's Internships & Co-ops page.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements?

Sandia's baseline rules are on its careers page; the clearance line varies by req:

• Enrollment: full time (typically 12 units undergraduate, 9 graduate); summer interns must be enrolled full time in the spring term before the internship.

• GPA: 3.0 cumulative for R&D, Technical and Business roles, 2.5 for clerical and laborer, and it isn't rounded. 64 of the 65 open reqs list 3.0 as required; 8 list 3.5 as desired.

• Clearance and citizenship: 38 of 65 open reqs require the ability to obtain a DOE clearance (21 Q, 17 L), which requires US citizenship. The other 27 say no clearance is currently required, and 25 of those accept US citizens, permanent residents, asylees or refugees.

• Screening: every req includes a pre-employment drug test and background review, and New Mexico employees must pass a US Air Force background screen for Kirtland Air Force Base access.

• Age: at least 16; Sandia also posts high school intern reqs.

Is the GPA a Hard Cutoff?

Yes. The careers page says the minimum cumulative GPA "will not be rounded," so a 2.98 doesn't meet a 3.0 floor, and 64 of 65 open reqs put 3.0 under required qualifications. A higher GPA helps but isn't the gate: 8 reqs list 3.5 as desired. Put your GPA to two decimals and your completed units on your resume, since Sandia sets your pay tier from your transcript (lower college is up to 60 units, upper is 61 or more).

What Skills Does Sandia National Laboratories Look For, and How Do You Build Them?

Sandia's 65 intern reqs span mechanics, cyber, materials and business, but the duties and qualifications sections share a core:

• Experimental and lab work: testing, experiments and hands-on lab work show up in 48 of 65.

• Analysis and computing: data analysis in 34, programming in 33, modeling and simulation in 33, and Python, C++ or MATLAB named in 25.

• Working and communicating in teams: collaboration in 44, written and verbal communication in 40, presenting results in 35.

Cyber reqs add intrusion detection, forensics and reverse engineering; the Systems Analysis req adds process modeling and research-grade game design.

How Is Demand for Engineering Interns Moving Right Now?

Build These Skills Before You Apply

Each row pairs a requirement from a live Sandia req with an open Externship that gives you a finished project to discuss.

Pick the row for the institute you'll apply to, and be ready to present the result. 35 of the 65 reqs mention presenting.

What Is the Sandia National Laboratories Application and Interview Process Like?

Sandia's process is manual and paperwork-heavy, so start early and expect it to take months:

1. Create an account in Sandia's Careers tool and filter Job Family = Student, or search "student."

2. Apply to each req separately. Sandia says recruiters manually review resumes on each posting rather than using screening software, so tailor each one.

3. Interview. Groups contact the candidates they want; one Livermore intern on Reddit describes a call in January after a November or December application.

4. Offer and transcript review. Your hourly rate is set from your completed units and degree level at the end of the fall term.

5. Drug test, background review and clearance. Reqs that need a Q or L clearance start that process after the offer; onboarding paperwork is heavy.

If you're at a school named in a campus-event req, apply through that req; it's tied to Sandia's recruiting at your fair.

What Students on Reddit Say

Sandia interns and former staff talk mostly about onboarding, clearances and culture.

How Do You Stand Out at Sandia?

Three moves that fit how Sandia actually hires.

First, be early on each req. With a three-day minimum and no close date, the applicants who see a req in its first week are the ones a recruiter reads. Check the Student job family weekly through the fall.

Second, apply to the institute, not just the lab. MissionTech, CSRI, TITANS, MSTIC and the Center for Cyber Defenders each post their own reqs. Name the institute's work in your resume summary and apply to two or three that fit.

Third, make the paperwork easy. Put your GPA unrounded and your completed units on your resume, and check the clearance line before you apply: 38 of 65 reqs need a US-citizen DOE clearance.

The payoff can be large. Sandia reported that more than 62% of eligible students converted to full-time jobs in 2022.

What Other Companies Should You Consider?

Students applying to Sandia usually look at other national security labs at the same time:

For the full field of defense and space employers, see our aerospace and defense internships summer 2027 guide.

FAQ

Can I still apply for a summer 2026 Sandia internship?

No. Sandia's summer 2026 internships ended in late August 2026. What's open now are summer 2027 reqs, which began posting on 17 August 2026, plus year-round and co-op reqs. On 3 October 2026 the feed listed 37 summer and 27 year-round or co-op reqs, and DOE SULI for summer 2027 opens on 14 October.

When should I apply for a Sandia summer 2027 internship?

Now, and keep checking through the fall. Summer 2027 reqs have been posting since mid-August 2026 and new ones were still appearing on 1 October. Each req stays open for a minimum of three days with no published close date, so apply in the first week a matching req appears.

How much do Sandia interns get paid?

Sandia publishes its rates. On the sheet effective January 2025, R&D and technical undergraduates earn $21.90 to $27.88 an hour in New Mexico and $25.93 to $33.01 in California. Graduate students earn $35.62 to $42.65 in New Mexico. Your tier is set by completed units and degree level.

Do I need to be a US citizen for a Sandia internship?

For most roles, yes. On 3 October 2026, 38 of 65 open intern reqs required the ability to obtain a DOE clearance, which requires US citizenship. The other 27 said no clearance is currently required, and 25 of those accept permanent residents, asylees and refugees. Read each req.

What GPA does Sandia require for internships?

A 3.0 cumulative GPA for R&D, technical and business roles, and 2.5 for clerical and laborer roles. Sandia doesn't round it, so a 2.98 misses a 3.0 floor. On 3 October 2026, 64 of 65 open reqs listed 3.0 as required and 8 listed 3.5 as desired.

How long is a Sandia summer internship?

Summer internships typically run 10 to 12 weeks, generally from May to the last Thursday in August, at up to 40 hours a week. Year-round interns work part-time during the school year, and co-ops run three to eight months full time through a school's official co-op program.

Do Sandia interns get full-time offers?

Often. Sandia reported in 2023 that more than 62% of eligible students converted to full-time employment in 2022, and that it had 1,915 interns across its sites in 2023. One Livermore intern on Reddit describes moving from summer intern to year-round intern to staff.

Can I get to Sandia through SULI instead?

Yes, as a separate route. DOE's SULI applications for summer 2027 open on 14 October 2026 and close on 6 January 2027 at 5pm Eastern, and Sandia is one of the host labs you can rank. SULI requires US citizenship or permanent residency, and offers start going out around 3 February 2027.

Sandia's summer 2027 reqs are posting now and can close within days, so check the board weekly this fall. Use the gaps between applications to finish a remote Externship project you can present in an interview.