MyLam
Beyond the Internship
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Apr 5, 2021
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Every year, we welcome hundreds of interns to our global locations to help us engineer breakthroughs in the semiconductor industry. Many of these interns have chosen Lam as the place to continue to learn, evolve, and grow their career. Hear from four former interns who are now current employees on what it was like to intern at the company and how their internships led them to where they are today.

Clara Kohlweiss headshot

Clara Kohlweiss, Process Engineer

Ready to take part in cutting edge research and learn more about the semiconductor industry, Clara joined Lam as an intern in the research center of the clean product line. After two completed internships in Villach, Austria, she took on a full-time role as a process engineer. “My internships were my favorite because the people I work with lived out Lam’s core value of mutual trust and respect,” Clara says. “They allowed me to work independently and offered support and knowledge whenever it was needed.” In fact, when asked about a learning experience that she has since carried with her into her new role she said, “Independent thinking – as an intern I was always encouraged to ask ‘why’ instead of blindly carrying out the task.”

For those future interns, her advice would be to “ask many questions and find personal joy in what you’re doing.”


Sukanta Sinha headshot

Sukanta Sinha, Electrical Engineer

Fascinated by the semiconductor industry and the unique questions posed to him during the interview, Sukanta accepted an internship as an electrical engineer intern at our Bangalore, India location. During his internship, he learned more about the inner workings of mass flow controllers (MFCs) and the power and control architectures in gas boxes, a panel that supports the operation of many process systems. In his current role as an electrical engineer, he has found that he often refers to his early learnings during his internship to help him engineer solutions to gas box-related challenges. His advice to future interns is to “be curious and don’t hesitate to ask as many questions. Try to learn as much as possible during your internship and enjoy the experience.”


Theron Smith headshot

Theron Smith, Product Engineer

Theron applied to Lam’s internship program “because the work sounded interesting, innovative and challenging.” As a product engineer intern, he learned to program in Python, “which has helped me to analyze data and write algorithms more efficiently in my current role.” Enjoying the amount of independence, responsibility, and trust he was given as an intern, Theron accepted a full-time position as a product engineer at our offices in Fremont, California. “I was allowed to utilize my creativity, curiosity, and technical aptitude to solve difficult problems and was provided an opportunity to grow as an engineer by developing new hardware and software skills”, he says. He recommends future interns to “focus on enhancing their technical and hands-on skills. Being able to produce real results will help you to stand out and will take you far.”


Reeya Nilesh Vani headshot

Reeya Nilesh Vani, Software Engineer

While in college, Reeya’s professor encouraged her to apply for an internship at Lam. Her professor, who was a consultant for the company, provided her with an overview of a technical project and insights into Lam’s corporate culture. Excited to be part of an environment of new possibilities, Reeya joined Lam as an engineering intern. She enjoyed the projects she was working on, the challenges that came with delivering next-generation solutions, and the learning and development resources that helped further employees’ skill sets. So, following her internship, Reeya accepted a full-time offer.

When she reflects on her internship experience, she mentions two key learnings that she has since carried with her into her current role as a software engineer. First, is to take ownership and accountability of the work done, and second, “to not shy away from challenges.” “I always look for opportunities to volunteer for challenging work or to use new or unexplored technology for development or to conduct concept and feasibility studies for implementing the new frameworks,” she says. For those intern candidates seeking advice, she recommends “to get to know the company’s work culture, fortify your passion, and figure out what you like and don’t like. Push yourself during your internship to develop as many skills as you can and learn from your mentors, seniors, colleagues, and manager; interact with different teams and look out for opportunities to volunteer for cross-team work.”


 

Want to join us this summer for our internship program? Learn more on our careers page.

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