​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ReliabilityFirst is a nonprofit playing a major role in lowering the risk of electrical blackouts and working to prepare for the challenges facing consumers and the energy markets should a blackout occur. Our footprint includes 13 states and the District of Columbia.

RF is a great place to work on meaningful projects, gain insight into ReliabilityFirst's role and responsibility to improve the reliability and security of the bulk power system.  As a member of the ReliabilityFirst team, you will work alongside industry experts, including seasoned power system engineers, attorneys and cyber security professionals.

WHY AN INTERNSHIP/CO-OP AT RF?​

• The welcoming and connected culture! Everyone has a place here and their individuality is celebrated.
• "The Buddy System": From day one, you will be paired with a "buddy."  This person will provide guidance on how to best utilize our company resources, how to act in a professional setting and how to navigate through difficult assignments.
• Assignments will vary based on your degree. The experience you gain will expand your knowledge in your degree field.
• You will gain knowledge of compliance and regulation of the bulk electrical system.
• Every intern will have a final project to present at the end of the internship.​

Our internship program is applicable to college sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students.  Students must be in good academic standing to be eligible to become a ReliabilityFirst intern.

Learn more about who we are and what we do by viewing our “Internship Links" section and checking out the RF Recruiting Brochure and INTERNS AND CO-OPS BROCHURE below.

If you have any questions about our internship program, please reach out to us using the dropdown on our Contact Us​ page. 

What is it like to intern at Reliability First? Check out a couple of intern testimonials below. 

​Kyle Wetzel, ​​​Security Analyst | Former Intern Hired Full-Time

​"Being an intern at RF was a blast! Working with the Entity Engagement team exposed me to concepts I had never previously known about, like Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Security.

At the end of every day, I would stop by my mentor's office for an hour or so and he would spend the entire time going off on tangents, showing me new security concepts and making sure I understood them completely.

In addition, being an intern allowed me the flexibility that I needed at the time. I basically made my own hours as long as the work I was assigned was getting done at a reasonable pace.

Coincidentally, the RF IT team was looking to bring someone with my skillset on board at the same time my internship was set to expire. Now I work full-time with the IT team and am loving every day!"

Hannah Timony, Business & Configuration Management Analyst | Former Intern Hired Full-Time​

“I began working as a data analytics intern my junior year of college after applying for the position on Handshake. During my internship, I was able to work across departments on a variety of projects using different analytical tools. My projects ranged from creating an interactive heatmap in RStudio displaying state and county data, to writing and running queries using SQL to capture erroneous data, to creating Power BI dashboards for presentations. ​

“At the start of the second year of my internship, a full time Business Analyst position opened and I was hired for the position after interviewing. Since I was hired before completing my final semester of college, ReliabilityFirst allowed me to work remotely part-time until I received my degree. Throughout my internship and transition to full-time status, ReliabilityFirst allowed me to easily manage my schedule and workload so I could learn as much as I could as an intern while still managing my college courses."

Osman Casey, Engineering and Data Analytics Intern | May 2022-Present

School: Ohio State University (senior)

Major: Electrical computer engineering 

Hometown: Hilliard, Ohio 

What have you worked on during your internship at RF? 
I've worked on the data extraction and analysis process, including Python coding, with the Engineering & System Performance (ESP) team. I also worked on a data verification project with the Operational Analysis & Awareness (OAA) team, ensuring data, primarily for Bulk Power System events, was successfully migrated from the old database to the new one.

What did you know about the power industry and RF coming into your internship? How has your knowledge of the industry changed? 
I knew that the Bulk Power System was very complex and when I got here, I learned it was even more complex. 

I definitely have a much broader view of how the engineering and power systems world works. I also learned the legal side of the power industry, including how reports are made. 
 
What has been your favorite part of the experience so far?
Even from day one I felt extremely welcome by both the ESP team and the OAA team. Every time I went into the office it was a blast.

I've especially enjoyed being introduced to PSSE, a transmission planning and analysis software used by power companies. RF Engineers showed me how they use it for simulation purposes. 

RF has given me lots of projects to work on. When I'm interested in something, they set time aside and teach it to me. I wanted to learn about transmission planning and one of the ESP engineers took some time to teach me about that.
 
Do you know what career path you intend to pursue? Has your time here influenced your thinking with that at all?
I want to work with semiconductors that will be used in sustainable energy. All the professional experience I've gained here and learning how to work with teams and learning how the power system comes together, it's really a team effort. 

I gained a lot of insight into how everything in the power industry works and how certain sources of power are generated. We're about to be in a climate crisis so I want to be someone on the front lines that's fighting that.

How did you hear about this internship opportunity? What advice would you have for other prospective RF interns?
The internship was posted on Handshake, and I applied from there.

Really take advantage of the time that you have here because these are probably some of the coolest people that you'll ever get to work with in your entire career.

Don't be afraid to tread into waters you haven't really swum in before. I didn't know anything about automating data analysis and extraction or transmission planning. You've just got to step out of your comfort zone sometimes and you'll learn a lot.