Hiring Organization
Criminal Division (CRM)
Hiring Office
Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS)

Location:
Washington , DC - United States
About the Office

The Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (“CEOS”) and its forensic High Technology Investigative Unit (“HTIU”) are the nation’s experts in investigating and prosecuting high-technology federal child exploitation cases and crimes. CEOS Trial Attorneys and HTIU Digital Investigative Analysts lead the Department of Justice’s efforts to improve the enforcement of federal child exploitation laws and prevent the exploitation of children. CEOS and HTIU investigate and prosecute all federal child exploitation cases including those involving the production, sale, and trafficking in child pornography, the sex trafficking of minors, and United States citizens who engage in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places. In addition, CEOS and HTIU perform other vital functions within the Criminal Division, including providing advice and training to other federal child exploitation prosecutors, law enforcement personnel, and government officials, and participating in national and international meetings on training and policy development. CEOS also works to develop and refine proposals for prosecution policies, legislation, government practices, and agency regulations.

Job Description

Interns will assist paralegal and attorney staff in performing legal and factual research and other closely related duties of a complex nature in support of the investigation and prosecution of complex criminal matters. This includes: digesting substantive materials and transcriptions of trial testimony or witness interviews; compiling, indexing, duplicating, and collating documents; reviewing and analyzing information, including statistical data, relevant to criminal cases and matters; preparing memoranda, discovery and other documents for attorneys; conducting factual research for a variety of purposes; preparing tables of contents, indexes for legal briefs, memoranda, and other such documents; specific problems and issues raised in litigation or correspondence; and performing a variety of other duties which may be assigned.

Commitment:
Spring and fall applicants must be available to work at least 24 hours per week (across at least 3 days) for a minimum of 10 weeks. This requirement is not negotiable, and availability must be confirmed with the applicant and their educational institution before an interview can be conducted. The summer internship is full-time (at least 32 hours across 5 days per week). This is a fully in-person internship.

Qualifications

Only junior and senior students may apply. Students must be enrolled either full-time or part-time in a college, university, or comparable educational institution. Students must be in good standing academically and eligible to continue as an enrolled student during the internship. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative work environment, possesses strong writing and communication skills, demonstrates proficiency dealing with Internet and computer technologies and produces high quality academic results, evidenced by a “B”/3.0 (or better) Grade Point Average. All offers require obtaining a proper security clearance after a review conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. U.S. citizenship required and applicants must have resided in the U.S. for at least 37 of the last 60 months.

Application Process

Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume (not to exceed two pages), current transcript, and writing sample via email to ceos.interns@usdoj.gov. The cover letter should be addressed to Eduardo Palomo and McKenzie Hightower, Internship Coordinators. All documents should be in PDF format; a single, combined PDF (rather than multiple) is preferred.

We review applications on a rolling basis. Candidates are encouraged to apply early as positions may be filled before the deadline. Submission windows for each semester are as follows:

Fall internship position: May 1 - June 15
Spring internship position: August 15 - October 1
Summer internship position: December 1 - February 1

For more information, visit our website: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos

Salary

These positions are volunteer (uncompensated).

Travel
N/A
Relocation Expenses
N/A
Department Policies
Equal Employment Opportunity

The Department remains steadfast in its commitment to equal employment opportunity (EEO) and treating employees with fairness, dignity and compassion. We must ensure that no applicant for employment or employee of our Department is denied equal opportunity because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex – including pregnancy – or because of age, physical or mental disability, protected genetic information, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, or any other non-merit based factor and that all have the freedom to compete on a fair and level playing field. To learn more, please view the Department’s full Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.

Reasonable Accommodations

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities

The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. See list of DPOCs.

Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs

Unless otherwise required by law , the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits employees of the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal contractor acting on its behalf from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history record, either in writing or orally, before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly to the hiring office using the contact information listed in the announcement.

Suitability and Citizenship

It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/non-citizens ). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee’s Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Veterans

There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service- connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that their retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that they were transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).

USAO Residency Requirement

Assistant United States Attorneys must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.

This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.

Updated April 9, 2026