Internships at F&A

Internship Program for Post-Secondary Students in Artificial Intelligence and Data Innovation 

This program, sponsored by Strategic Technology Solutions (STS), a division of F&A, is designed for students attending Tennessee universities or technical schools who are pursuing a degree in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Computer Science, Information Systems, Machine Learning, Analytics, Public Policy (AI focus), or a related field. 

The program provides exposure to one or more of the following areas: Responsible AI Governance, AI Policy and Ethics, Machine Learning Engineering, Data Analytics, Intelligent Automation, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Computer Vision, AI Security and Risk Management, AI Solution Architecture, Data Engineering, AI Model Evaluation, and Emerging Technology Research. 

As an Artificial Intelligence Intern, you will work closely with experienced technology leaders, data scientists, engineers, and policy professionals to gain hands-on experience in a dynamic and mission-driven environment. You will have the opportunity to contribute to real-world AI initiatives that support state government operations, improve citizen services, and advance responsible innovation. 

For consideration, submit application materials to Nneka.Norman-Gordon@tn.gov.

Application Requirements

To be considered for a State of Tennessee AI Internship, please submit the following documents via email: 

• Current resume
• School transcripts
• Letter of interest
• Two letters of recommendation — individuals who can speak to your technical ability, character, initiative, and commitment to public service are encouraged 

Key Aspects of the Internship Program 

• The Internship Program is for current students.
• Students hired into this program will be classified as “Interns.”
• Positions will align with the Intern’s academic career goals or field of study.
• Provides college students valuable experience within the State workforce.
• Paid position.  

Prerequisites 

• Enrolled at least part-time in a computer science or adjacent program or public policy program at an accredited college, university, community college, technical school, vocational program, or advanced degree program pursuing a qualifying degree or certificate.
• Minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
• Must be at least 20 years of age at the outset of the internship.
• Must complete required Human Resources training by the end of the internship.
• Must be able to successfully complete a background check. 

Key Responsibilities 

This internship offers motivated students the opportunity to gain practical experience in Artificial Intelligence within public sector environments. Interns may be introduced to and contribute to the following areas: 
 

Responsible AI Governance and Policy 

• Assist in reviewing and drafting AI governance policies, standards, and guidance documents
• Assist in reviewing and drafting AI governance policies, standards, and guidance documents
• Support the development of responsible AI frameworks aligned with state and federal guidance.
• Research emerging AI regulations, industry standards, and ethical best practices.
• Contribute to documentation and transparency efforts for AI use cases across agencies. 

AI Strategy and Innovation 

• Assist in identifying use cases where AI can improve operational efficiency or citizen services.
• Conduct research on emerging AI technologies and evaluate applicability to state government.
• Support pilot programs and proof-of-concept initiatives.
• Help develop internal AI awareness materials and educational resources. 

Data Science and Machine Learning 

• Support data preparation, cleaning, and exploratory data analysis efforts. 
• Assist in building, training, testing, and evaluating machine learning models. 
• Participate in model validation and performance benchmarking activities.
• Help document methodologies and model assumptions for transparency and auditability.  

Intelligent Automation and Process Optimization

• Assist in identifying repetitive or manual processes suitable for automation.
• Support the development and testing of AI-enabled automation workflows.
• Evaluate automation performance metrics and recommend improvements. 

Natural Language Processing and Generative AI

• Assist in developing and testing NLP solutions for document analysis, summarization, classification, or chatbot development.
• Support internal generative AI initiatives focused on productivity and knowledge management.
• Participate in prompt development, evaluation, and model output validation exercises.
• Research model bias, hallucination risks, and mitigation strategies.  

AI Security and Risk Management

• Support AI risk assessments and documentation of model governance controls.
• Assist in identifying potential risks related to model bias, data privacy, and system misuse.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity and legal teams to ensure AI systems meet security and compliance requirements. 

Data Privacy and Ethical Considerations

• Work with data owners to ensure sensitive data used in AI systems is handled appropriately.
• Assist in reviewing datasets for compliance with privacy standards.
• Contribute to documentation supporting ethical and transparent AI use. 

AI Program Management and Operations

• The Intern may support AI program initiatives including:
• Maintaining AI content repositories and internal knowledge sites.
• Assisting with coordination between agencies and AI stakeholders.
• Supporting tracking of AI initiatives, pilot results, and performance metrics.
• Assisting with preparation of executive briefings and reporting materials. 

What Interns Will Gain

• Practical experience applying AI in a real-world government setting. 
• Exposure to responsible AI governance and enterprise-scale implementation.
• Experience working cross-functionally with technical, legal, and operational teams.
• Insight into how emerging technologies are deployed responsibly within public service. 

This program is an opportunity for students to contribute meaningfully to the responsible advancement of Artificial Intelligence within the State of Tennessee — helping build systems that are secure, ethical, transparent, and beneficial to citizens. 

Internship Program for Post-Secondary Students in Cybersecurity

This program, which is sponsored by Strategic Technology Solutions (STS), a divisin of F&A,  is for students attending Tennessee Universities/Technical schools pursuing a degree in a field related to cybersecurity and covering one or more of the following areas: Governance, Policy, Compliance, Risk Management, Data Privacy, Security Architecture and Engineering, Asset Security, Network Security, Identity and Access Management, Security Assessment and Testing, Security Operations, Applications Software and Web Security, Contingency Planning, and Supply Chain Risk Management.

As a cybersecurity Intern, you will work closely with a team of experienced information security professionals to gain hands-on experience in a dynamic and fast-paced environment. You will have the opportunity to learn about various aspects of cybersecurity, including processes, procedures, operations, and contribute to the development and implementation of security measures to protect the organization's systems and data.

To be considered for a state of Tennessee internship, please supply the following documents by email to sts_employee_engagement@tn.gov.

Application Requirements

To be considered for a State of Tennessee AI Internship, please submit the following documents via email: 

• Current resume
• School transcripts
• Letter of interest
• 2 letters of recommendation - it is encouraged to find individuals who can illustrate your qualifications, character, and commitment to public service.

Key Aspects of the Internship Program 

• The Internship Program is for current students. Students hired into this program will be known as "Interns."
  
• Positions will align with the Intern’s academic career goals or field of study.
• Provides college students valuable experience within the State workforce.
• Paid position.  

Prerequisites 

• A U.S. citizen or national.
• Enrolled in or pursuing a degree on at least a half-time basis: current students in an accredited college (including 4-year colleges/universities, community colleges, and junior colleges); professional, technical, vocational, and trade school; advanced degree programs; or other qualifying educational institution pursuing a qualifying degree or certificate.
• Applicants must possess a grade point average (GPA) of a 2.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0.
• Must be at least 18 years of age at the outset of the internship
• Must complete required Human Resources training by the end of the internship
• Must be able to successfully complete a background check
  

Key Responsibilities 

This is an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated individual to gain practical experience in cybersecurity. The following is a list of cybersecurity related areas that you might be introduced to during the internship program:
 

Cybersecurity Policy

• Reviewing, and implementing changes to policies, standards, and procedures
• Updating and monitoring the Policy SharePoint site.
• Monitoring compliance with security policies across the State of TN
  

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR)

• Assist in the maintenance and improvement of BCDR security policies, procedures, and guidelines
• Support the implementation and monitoring of BCDR security controls and technologies
• Contribute to the development and implementation of business continuity and disaster recovery plans

Data Privacy

In an increasing digital world, Tennessee state government handles vast amounts of sensitive data. Building a robust data privacy program is crucial to protect this information and maintain public trust.

• Will be part of the building process, working on the data privacy website by keeping it populated with knowledgeable information to help state employees protect citizen data.
• Will be part of daily meetings with agencies and legal teams as we discuss how state data needs to be handled if they are dealing with outside vendors who will store our data.
• Work closely with security to ensure that data classified as sensitive is being secured with proper data protection controls.
• Review any industry trends regarding types of data breaches we are seeing in the government space that we may need to be concerned about.
• Help to rebuild the data privacy SharePoint with data privacy audits. 

Vulnerability Management and Application Security

• Scan enterprise systems for vulnerabilities and compliance settings, research impact of new vulnerabilities, ensure awareness of vulnerabilities to agency partners
• Perform application assessments and penetration testing
• Provide general security guidance and consulting to agency partners 

Security Incident Response

• Threat intelligence and threat hunting, using security tools and resources for investigating security incidents, and assisting the team with Security related projects.
• Assisting the team with analyzing log events for Security offenses, events, and incidents generated by either Security tools and/or reported by State of Tennessee Customers.

Compliance and Audit

• Will work with internal and external personnel to facilitate roll out of compliance processes and train end users to interact with the system and educate them on the processes.
• Process administrative tasks using Microsoft Word and Excel at the direction of the Compliance Officer.

Cybersecurity Program Management

• The intern will support the team on a number of process improvement initiatives including:
• Cybersecurity content repositories and websites improvement
• Coordination with internal and external stakeholders
• Reviewing of service requests and assist in prioritization
• Coordinate process improvement related project activities