The NAVAIR SYSCOM Security Cooperation Office’s (SSCO) Junior Personnel Development Program provides an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to gain valuable work experience while earning their degrees, network with existing team members and strengthen their marketability post-graduation.  

The Junior Personnel Development Program mission is to inspire interns to seek full-time employment in NAVAIR international programs or other NAVAIR positions upon graduation by allowing students to directly work on projects that support Navy and Marine Corps international partner aircraft and weapons systems. 

“The SSCO advances our nation’s strategic objectives by establishing and growing key allied partnerships through security cooperation efforts across the Naval Aviation Enterprise,” said Scott Wiener, SSCO director. “The SSCO Junior Personnel Development Program is critical to this mission by establishing and growing the women and men who will lead the NAVAIR international program efforts of the future.”

To qualify for the SSCO internship, applicants must be accepted or enrolled at an accredited institution or be a recent graduate within two years. Applicants must be pursuing or have attained a bachelor’s degree in finance, business, administration, government and politics, international relations, or related fields and able to commit to working 40 hours a week during the summer. Participants who meet all requirements of their intern program may be eligible for transfer to full-time employment with SSCO upon graduation.

Throughout the summer, participants learned about the SSCO mission and the program offices they support. They began with onboarding activities such as obtaining a government identification card and security clearance, followed by participating in interactive training and events within program offices with the goal of exposing them to different aspects of NAVAIR international programs. By the end of the summer session, the interns supported the SSCO Tech Data team in proofreading and editing documents, the Non-Program of Record team in Building Partner Capacity case support and the New Business/Data Analytics team in event planning and SharePoint development.

“The SSCO Junior Personnel Development Program is a multi-year opportunity,” said Dan Keller, SSCO personnel development coordinator. “The first year we maximize the intern’s exposure to the SSCO, NAVAIR and Naval Aviation Enterprise. The following years we assign them directly to program offices where they receive program management or program analyst track assignments in support of international efforts.” 

The SSCO Junior Personnel Development Program, established in 2015, has a 75 percent retention rating. The program brought 39 individuals on board with federal civilian service, retaining 28 of those individuals in the SSCO community.  

About SSCO  

The NAVAIR SYSCOM Security Cooperation Office’s mission is to advance U.S. strategic objectives by supporting key allied and international partners with the acquisition, training and sustainment of U.S. defense systems on behalf of the Naval Aviation Enterprise. SSCO provides acquisition and lifecycle sustainment and management integration across all integrated product support elements for foreign military sales programs.   

For more information about NAVAIR student internship programs, visit: https://jobs.navair.navy.mil/studenthiring

For future SSCO student internship listings, they may also be found here: https://www.usajobs.gov/