OpenDP Graduate Student Fellow

The Protocol Labs Network is an ecosystem of teams pushing the boundaries of decentralized technologies, research, and open-source innovation. Explore opportunities across the network and join the mission.

The OpenDP Summer Program offers a summer of research and mentorship for students interested in implementing differential privacy. For the ten‑week summer program, we match PhD and undergraduate students with projects that align with OpenDP’s goals and vision. OpenDP is a community effort to build trustworthy, open‑source software tools for statistical analysis of sensitive private data. These tools, which we call OpenDP, offer the rigorous protections of differential privacy for the individuals who may be represented in confidential data and statistically valid methods of analysis for researchers who study the data.

Applicants will also be considered for fellowships in the broader Privacy Tools Project
. Some past OpenDP internships and fellowships have led to published research papers or senior theses; students who are interested in a research‑oriented project should indicate that on their application, and we will try to develop a project with a research component.

This summer, we are looking for students in the following project areas:

• Building and integrating software
• Community building and outreach
• Usability and UX
• Writing math proofs
• Machine learning and differential privacy
• Privacy, ethics, policy, and responsible use

This opening is for students who have completed a bachelor’s degree.

We welcome post‑bacc, master’s, and PhD students for this position. Applicants should have some background in differential privacy and demonstrated interest in the project area(s) that they hope to explore this summer. OpenDP is a community initiative and we welcome individuals from all backgrounds to apply for this position.

Nina Wattenberg
Harvard Science and Engineering Complex, Office 4.444
150 Western Ave
Boston, MA 02134
Contact Email: info

The yearly salary for this position is $50,000,
prorated for the ten‑week duration of the fellowship.

Harvard University is committed to equal opportunity and non‑discrimination. We seek talent from all parts of society and the world, and we strive to ensure everyone at Harvard thrives. Our differences help our community advance Harvard’s academic purposes.

Harvard has an equal employment opportunity policy that outlines our commitment to prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, religion, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law or identified in the university’s non‑discrimination policy. Harvard’s equal employment opportunity policy and non‑discrimination policy help all community members participate fully in work and campus life free from harassment and discrimination.