Bluestaq Graduate Research Scholar — NDSU Partnership

Bluestaq Graduate Research Scholar — NDSU Partnership Full-Ride M.S./Ph.D. Sponsorship + Paid Summer Internship (Colorado Springs, CO) Bluestaq — a Colorado Springs leader in secure data ecosystems, graph technologies, natural language processing, and AI solutions for national security and defense customers, including the U.S. Space Force — is launching a full-ride graduate research sponsorship in partnership with North Dakota State University (NDSU). We are seeking motivated NDSU graduate students to conduct Bluestaq-defined research beginning Fall 2026, culminating in a paid summer internship at Bluestaq headquarters. Why This Program Matters This sponsorship connects academic research directly to national-security mission impact. As a Bluestaq Graduate Research Scholar, your work will: Advance real capabilities in LLMs, knowledge graphs, NLP, and agentic AI used by defense and national-security customers. Build a direct pipeline from sponsored academic research into hands-on delivery at Bluestaq. Position you as part of a select, founding cohort of scholars at the leading edge of applied AI research. What You'll Do Fall 2026 Research Project Conduct Bluestaq-defined research in one or more of the following focus areas: Large Language Models, Data Sourcing & Tagging, Knowledge Graph / Graph Store, Agentic AI, Natural Language Processing, and Prompt Engineering. Work independently and with NDSU faculty advisors, with research direction and technical alignment provided by Bluestaq. Bring genuine intellectual curiosity — while projects are Bluestaq-defined, student interest and alignment are valued in shaping the work. Summer 2027 Internship — Bluestaq HQ, Colorado Springs, CO Complete a paid summer internship as a direct continuation of your sponsored research, delivering immediate mission impact. Receive hands-on mentorship and real-world application experience in a fast-paced defense-tech environment. Program Benefits Full tuition, fees, stipend, and health insurance — funded for the complete duration of your M.S. or Ph.D. degree. Summer internship compensation: MS students: $28–35/hr ($1,120–$1,400/week at 40 hrs) PhD students: $34–42/hr ($1,360–$1,680/week at 40 hrs) Qualifications and Requirements Currently enrolled, or incoming, M.S. or Ph.D. student at North Dakota State University. Target disciplines: Computer Science; Electrical & Computer Engineering; Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Software & Security Engineering (other aligned fields considered). Strong academic record and genuine interest in applying AI/data to national-security challenges. Selected through a joint Bluestaq/NDSU review process; a Bluestaq technical representative serves on the selection committee alongside NDSU faculty. Education Enrollment in (or admission to) an M.S. or Ph.D. program at NDSU in a qualifying discipline is required. Clearance Requirement U.S. citizenship is required, and candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance. Supervising faculty must also meet citizenship and clearance requirements, as sponsored work involves Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and pre-existing Bluestaq intellectual property. Location Academic-year research is based at NDSU (Fargo, ND); mandatory summer internship placement is on-site at Bluestaq HQ, Colorado Springs, CO. Program Timeline Fall 2026: Research project begins. Summer 2027: Paid internship at Bluestaq HQ. Application deadline: August 31st, 2026 Intellectual Property This is a standard industry-sponsored research arrangement: Bluestaq retains full ownership of all intellectual property developed under the sponsorship, consistent with students advancing the company's pre-existing IP portfolio. Salary Range (CO) $28 — $42 USD Clearance Requirement: This position may require the ability to obtain a TS/SCI Clearance. To be eligible for a security clearance, U.S. citizenship is required, and an employee must agree to participate i…