Application Security Intern - Application Security

To be considered for this position, applications and resumes are accepted only through our careers site by directly applying to the posted job. We do not accept unsolicited resumes or sales solicitations from staffing agencies. Any OCC employee wishing to submit a referral must do so through their Workday account. Any resume submitted outside of an active job posting will not be considered for employment.

*****INTERNS AND SEASONAL INTERNS ARE ELIGIBLE ONLY FOR PAID SICK LEAVE ACCRUED BASED ON HOURS WORKED. NO OTHER BENEFIT INCLUDING TECHNOLOGY STIPEND APPLY TO INTERNS OR SEASONAL INTERNS*****

Location: Dallas
Internship type: Year-round intern (1,000hours max, January 2027–December 2027)
Hybrid Work Program
OCC operates under a Hybrid Work Program which, absent an approved exception, requires employees to work from an OCC office at least 3 days per week. To maximize in-person collaboration, Tuesday and Wednesday are considered anchor days, and all employees are expected to work in the office both days. Employees meeting performance expectations are generally permitted to select 2 other days per week to work remotely if desired. When working remotely, employees are generally expected to work from the state in which they reside, absent an exception approved by Human Resources. Additionally, OCC generally does not permit employees to work while traveling internationally.

About OCC:

A World Class Clearing Organization

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, OCC is dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. OCC has more than 100 clearing members and provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 21 exchanges and trading platforms.

OCC also provides free and engaging educational resources about the benefits and risks of options through its Options Industry Council (OIC). 

OCC is building a culture that empowers continued learning, authentic innovation, and constant creativity.

About the Intern Program:

OCC is looking for interns who are eager to learn, humble enough to ask questions, and ready to think critically about complex problems. The OCC Internship Program equips students with the real-world skills needed to transition successfully into a career in financial services. As an intern, you will contribute to meaningful projects, applying your skills and knowledge to real challenges facing the business. Your time with us is a real opportunity to make a genuine impact on the future of OCC!

OCC's Year-Round Internship Program is a 12-month opportunity running from January through December and is open to both undergraduate and graduate students who are actively enrolled at a college or university. Interns work up to 20 hours per week during the school year and up to 40 hours per week during the summer, subject to a 1,000-hour cap. The role is based in a hybrid work environment, and overtime is not permitted.

About the Team & Role
The Product & Application Security team is responsible for securing OCC's applications across their entire lifecycle, from code to production. Our work spans security testing (penetration testing, SAST, DAST, SCA, container scanning), security integration into developer workflows and CI/CD pipelines, and vulnerability research and advisory. A core part of our mission is making secure development the path of least resistance for every developer at OCC.
The intern will support a key initiative: using frontier AI models to develop, codify, and embed security standards directly into OCC's developer workflows and AI-assisted coding environments. This includes building AI-consumable security configurations, automating the enforcement of security standards within our existing tooling and pipelines, and helping reduce the manual effort currently required to maintain consistency across OCC's development ecosystem. This is high-impact work that will have lasting effect on how security is practiced across the organization long after the internship concludes.
The intern will gain hands-on experience at the intersection of application security, software engineering, and frontier AI, working alongside experienced security professionals on real, production-affecting initiatives rather than isolated side projects.
Job Summary & Responsibilities
The intern will work within the Product & Application Security (AppSec) team on a high-impact initiative: using frontier AI models to research, build, and embed security standards directly into how OCC's developers write code. This is not a documentation internship. You will be using AI as a core engineering tool to codify security requirements, automate their enforcement, and embed them into developer workflows and AI-assisted coding environments across the organization.
Responsibilities include:

• Using frontier AI models and LLMs as core engineering tools to research, synthesize, and codify OCC-specific secure coding standards based on industry frameworks (OWASP, NIST,CIS)

• Building AI-consumable configuration files (e.g., Claude.md) that embed security requirements directly into AI-assisted developer workflows and GitHub repositories across OCC

• Automating the enforcement of security standards within CI/CD pipelines and developer tooling (Snyk, SAST/DAST tools, GitHub), writing real automation that runs in production workflows

• Collaborating with development teams to integrate and test security standards in real developer environments

• Assisting with vulnerability triage and remediation guidance, gaining exposure to real-world security findings alongside experienced AppSec engineers

The standards and automation you build will be running across OCC's development ecosystem long after the internship ends and will shape how AI coding assistants and developers write secure code at one of the most critical financial market infrastructures in the world.
Candidate Qualifications
Rising senior or second-year graduate student, graduating December 2027 or May/August 2028.
Desired Majors

• Computer Science

• Cybersecurity / Information Security

• Software Engineering

• Computer Engineering

• Management Information Systems

Technical Skills/Experience Desired

• Basic programming/scripting ability (Python, Bash, or similar) needed for automation work

• Familiarity with software development concepts and the SDLC

• Understanding of version control (Git/GitHub)

• Basic familiarity with AI/LLM tools and concepts (Claude, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or similar)

• Exposure to CI/CD concepts (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, etc.) a plus

• Familiarity with security concepts — OWASP Top 10, common vulnerability classes a plus

• Experience with any security tooling (Snyk, SonarQube, Burp Suite, etc.) a plus

• Familiarity with static analysis or code review a plus

• Basic understanding of APIs and how applications communicate a plus

• Exposure to cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP) a plus

• Experience with prompt engineering or structuring AI-consumable instruction files (e.g.,markdown-based configuration such as Claude.md) a plus

Additional Qualifications

• Ability to work collaboratively across technical teams and communicate findings clearly to both security and non-security audiences

• Self-starter who can take ownership of deliverables and drive work forward with minimal supervision

• Strong written communication — the intern will be producing standards documentation that developers will read and follow

• Curiosity and willingness to learn — AppSec sits at the intersection of security, development, and AI, so adaptability matters

• Attention to detail

About Us

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, OCC is dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. OCC has more than 100 clearing members and provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 19 exchanges and trading platforms. More information about OCC is available at www.theocc.com.

Compensation

• The salary range listed for any given position is exclusive of fringe benefits and potential bonuses. If hired at OCC, your final base salary compensation will be determined by factors such as skills, experience and/or education.
• In addition, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as part of any final offer.
• We typically do not hire at the maximum of the range in order to allow for future and continued salary growth. We also offer a substantial benefits package as noted on www.theocc.com/careers
• All employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus. Discretionary bonuses are based on various factors, including, but not limited to, company and individual performance and are not guaranteed.

Salary Range

$25.00 - $25.00

Incentive Range

This position is eligible for an annual discretionary incentive compensation award, for which the target range is listed above (see Incentive Range). The amount of such award, if any, will be based on various factors, including without limitation, both individual and company performance.

Step 1
When you find a position you're interested in, click the 'Apply' button. Please complete the application and attach your resume.  

Step 2
You will receive an email notification to confirm that we've received your application.

Step 3
If you are called in for an interview, a representative from OCC will contact you to set up a date, time, and location. 

For more information about OCC, please click here.

OCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer