---
title: 'Bluestaq Graduate Research Scholar — NDSU Partnership at Bluestaq US External'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/bluestaq-graduate-research-scholar-ndsu-partnership-bluestaq-us-external-yr8vrhqyfyve'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-10'
---

# Bluestaq Graduate Research Scholar — NDSU Partnership at Bluestaq US External

- **Company:** Bluestaq US External
- **Location:** Colorado Springs, CO
- **Compensation:** $28–$42/hr
- **Posted:** 2026-07-23
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/bluestaq/jobs/4329651009

## Job description

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 an active TS/SCI Clearance. Current clearance holders are strongly encouraged to apply. If you don't currently hold one, Bluestaq will sponsor eligible candidates through the clearance process based on program needs.

## About Bluestaq

At Bluestaq, we build secure data platforms that matter for space missions, national defense, healthcare systems, and commercial innovation. Founded in 2018, we've become a leader in enterprise software and secure data management by staying focused on what counts: modern architecture, operational excellence, and mission impact.

We're engineers, problem-solvers, and builders who take the mission seriously, but not ourselves. We automate the repeatable, question the status quo, and design systems that are as reliable as they are scalable. Whether we're supporting space, defense systems, or healthcare advancements, we build with the same principles: cloud-native solutions, security by design, and relentless simplicity.

Relocation: Relocation assistance may be available for this role and is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Date the Position Closes: Applications will be accepted for 60 days beyond the posting date, or until the position is filled, whichever comes first.

Bluestaq is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We prohibit unlawful discrimination against applicants or employees on the basis age 40 and over, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, military or veteran status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by state or local law.

Bluestaq will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities and employees whose work requirements interfere with a religious belief unless doing so would result in an undue hardship to Bluestaq or a direct threat. Employees needing such accommodation are instructed to contact Human Resources immediately at contact.us@bluestaq.com.

## About Bluestaq US External

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Bluestaq builds secure, scalable data management platforms that enable organizations to ingest, store, manage, discover, and share data across on-premises, cloud, and edge environments.
- **Entity Type**: Private (bootstrapped/self-funded, no disclosed funding rounds)
- **Headquarters**: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
- **Founded**: 2018
- **Founders**: Seth Harvey (CEO, per Inc. profile)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Enterprise data management and integration software
- **Target customers**: B2B, primarily U.S. military, intelligence agencies, healthcare, public sector, and large corporations
- **Mission**: Build enterprise software platforms to connect, integrate, catalog, govern, and discover data for data-driven communities

## Products & Services
- **EdgePlatform**: Portable, ruggedized data mobility solution for austere environments with minimal infrastructure
- **Storefront**: Data catalog and marketplace for discovering, consuming, and subscribing to data feeds with live API documentation
- **Secure Content Store**: Manages and exploits unstructured data (documents, video, audio, imagery) with search and correlation tools
- **HybridSolution**: On-premise hybrid cloud deployment (single or multi-node) to minimize data latency
- **EnterprisePlatform**: Cloud-based platform deployable across multiple availability zones with real-time synchronization
- **PEPStaq API Gateway**: Lightweight policy enforcement point / API gateway for securing web-based enterprise systems
- **Ecommerce Marketplace**: Marketplace for acquiring commercial data from global vendors for government, commercial, and academic consumers

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: 232% 3-year growth (Inc. 2025); 143 total employees (Built In)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Growth Signals**: Recognized as an Inc. Best Workplace (2026); multiple Inc. 5000 rankings (No. 630 in 2023, No. 1,327 in 2024, No. 1,663 in 2025, No. 1,871 in 2022); named one of Colorado’s fastest-growing private companies

## Competitive Advantages
- Deep specialization in secure data ecosystems for high-stakes, mission-critical sectors (defense, intelligence, healthcare)
- Proprietary edge computing and hybrid cloud capabilities for disconnected or austere environments
- Integrated AI/ML and NLP capabilities for real-time data exploitation
- Strong emphasis on data governance, policy enforcement, and interoperability across disparate systems

## Strategic Focus
- Continuing to expand data unification capabilities across on-prem, cloud, and edge
- Deepening AI/ML and natural language processing integration for unstructured data
- Growing presence in healthcare and commercial sectors while maintaining defense/intelligence core
- Scaling the team and maintaining a small-company culture as headcount grows

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Values-driven (trust, ownership, curiosity, talent, teamwork, mentorship); described as purpose-driven with a small-company feel
- **Work Policy**: Hybrid – typically 3–4 days in office, 1–2 days remote depending on role; onsite in Colorado Springs
- **Benefits**: 100% employer-paid PPO health insurance for employees and dependents; profit share; “Take-What-You-Need” time off; mental health benefits; paid internship program
- **Tech Stack**: Modern – AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, React, React Native, Node.js, Python, Angular, Kafka, Neo4j, TensorFlow, Spring, GitHub, and more
- **Impact**: Work directly supports national security, healthcare operations, and critical infrastructure – described as “measurable global impact”

## Sources
1. [bluestaq.com](https://www.bluestaq.com/)
2. [bluestaq.com/careers](https://www.bluestaq.com/careers)
3. [greenhouse.io](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/bluestaq)
4. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/bluestaq)
5. [inc.com](https://www.inc.com/profile/bluestaq)

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