Our internship program really conjures up staff to deliver their finest self to work each day. Our program has mentors throughout the enterprise that assist interns develop their abilities to create a profession they love. Our Mentors of the Yr have proven distinctive dedication in guiding and supporting our interns on their skilled journeys. Uncover how being a mentor has helped them advance their very own careers at Pinterest and discover out what conjures up them.
On this weblog, we’re joined by Irena Lee, Software program Engineer I; Ricardo Casilimas, Software program Engineer II; Lily Liu, Sr. Knowledge Scientist; Sujay Khandagale, Sr. Machine Studying Engineer; and David Xue, Sr. Machine Studying Engineer to present you a glimpse into their time mentoring our 2024 summer season interns.
Irena Lee
Inform us about your self!
I’m Irena, an iOS engineer on the Cell Builds workforce. Our workforce focuses on Android and iOS construct occasions and stability each domestically and on CI. I began at Pinterest proper after school and have been right here for precisely one 12 months now. I’m primarily based out of NYC and love going to the brand new workplace but additionally love benefiting from PinFlex to journey often.
Why did you turn out to be a mentor?
Previously, I really had just a few internship experiences at different firms the place I didn’t really feel supported and mentored by my workforce. Because of this, I typically questioned if I used to be reduce out for a profession in software program engineering. After I joined Pinterest, I had no background in iOS or builds. Nonetheless, proper from the beginning, my workforce made me really feel comfy and supported by way of the training curve. I used to be inspired to take the time to study and onboard as a substitute of feeling the rapid stress to carry out. Once we got the chance to have an intern this summer season, I needed to move alongside the unbelievable mentorship I’ve obtained in hopes that our intern would have a significantly better expertise to look again on.
As a mentor, what stands out as probably the most unforgettable second whereas guiding our interns?
I used to be fortunate sufficient to have the prospect to fulfill our intern in particular person. Regardless that it was solely her second week, she joined our org in Mexico Metropolis for an onsite. We had the chance to seize dinner collectively the primary night time there, which was an ideal likelihood to get to know her in one thing apart from a piece setting. I feel it helped set the muse for a robust mentorship dynamic.
Ricardo Casilimas
Inform us about your self!
My title is Ricardo, an iOS engineer engaged on the ATG Merchandise workforce. Our workforce does fascinating work utilizing generative AI and LLMs to construct new person experiences that delight Pinners and hold Pinterest as probably the most constructive (and fascinating) app available on the market. I’m primarily based out of Miami, and one in all my favourite hobbies is cooking, so I spend a variety of time on Pinterest exploring what recipe I can create subsequent!
Why did you turn out to be a mentor?
Essentially the most impactful second of my profession was my internship in 2021. I used to be fully contemporary to the world of software program engineering and tech. I had little or no confidence in myself. I entered the internship ready to work exhausting however anxious about my capabilities. Due to my superb mentor, supervisor, and workforce, I had probably the most rewarding work expertise in my life and discovered a lot. However a very powerful factor I gained was the idea in myself that I might study, develop, and discover my very own place on this trade. The primary cause I grew to become a mentor was to present that very same expertise again — to present an intern the arrogance, the talents, and the muse to construct a contented and profitable profession. And naturally, to have a enjoyable summer season the entire approach by way of!
As a mentor, what stands out as probably the most unforgettable second whereas guiding our interns?
I feel for me, probably the most rewarding and unforgettable a part of my mentorship expertise was in the direction of the top of the internship seeing the expansion of my intern. My intern had an excellent first half of his internship, however there have been positively areas of enchancment and development that my supervisor and I identified to him.
A selected instance was one mistake he had made throughout his first half was a minor UI bug having to do with darkish and light-weight mode on the iPhone. I keep in mind being so impressed and proud once I was reviewing one in all his later PR’s and noticed that he had included, within the PR abstract, movies of the function he had in-built mild and darkish mode. He was so decided to not repeat the identical mistake once more and develop from it, and I knew that second he was/goes to be an incredible software program engineer with that stage of consideration to element and talent to study and develop from suggestions and his errors.
Lily Liu
Inform us about your self!
I’m Lily, a senior information scientist on the advertisements supply workforce. My workforce’s scope contains figuring out points and inefficiencies within the supply funnel, analyzing rating fashions, and bettering advertisements efficiency. In my 4 years at Pinterest, I’ve had the pleasure of working with all kinds of groups, together with advertisements measurement, retrieval, rating, privateness, and so on. I just lately moved to San Francisco from South Bay and am now eagerly exploring town. In my free time, I prefer to play pickleball, make floral preparations, and go mountain climbing.
Why did you turn out to be a mentor?
I used to be a Pintern myself just a few years in the past! I labored on an impactful venture and discovered quite a bit from my mentor. After becoming a member of Pinterest, I’ve jumped at alternatives to present again and mentored junior members on the workforce. I used to be so excited to mentor Becky and assist her to seek out her personal profession path. Mentoring has at all times been a rewarding expertise for me. I discover that as I clarify evaluation methodologies and findings to my mentees, I additionally query my very own assumptions and infrequently get contemporary concepts on instructions to look into.
As a mentor, what stands out as probably the most unforgettable second whereas guiding our interns?
I loved seeing my intern Becky in particular person on a regular basis within the SF workplace. We have been capable of have in depth discussions and work by way of issues collectively. At any time when we labored on a tough drawback collectively, her eyes lit up when the answer began to click on. Becky rapidly discovered to navigate ambiguities and clear up issues independently. By the top of the summer season, different colleagues began to come back to Becky to ask questions. I’m so happy with how a lot she has grown.
Sujay Khandagale
Inform us about your self!
Hello, I’m Sujay, a Machine Studying Engineer on the Search workforce at Pinterest. I’ve been on the firm for the final two years, constructing machine studying fashions to make Pinterest Search extra customized and related! In my day-to-day, I work on cutting-edge machine studying fashions (eg. transformers and basis fashions) to assist Pinners discover what they’re on the lookout for from tons of of billions of Pins. Along with this, I additionally work on constructing an inclusive search expertise at Pinterest to make Pinners really feel represented on the platform. A number of the issues I’ve labored on embody the pores and skin tone filters and physique kind know-how.
Why did you turn out to be a mentor?
I’ve at all times discovered mentorship to be fairly rewarding — the enjoyment of collaborating and serving to others attain their full potential is really fulfilling for me. I consider that mentorship can be a robust software for private {and professional} development — it allows me to share my data and expertise with others. At Pinterest, I’ve been lucky sufficient to have some superb mentors like Bhawna Juneja, Prabhat Agarwal, and Yuting Wang, who’ve tremendously impressed me. Changing into a mentor offers me the chance to present again to the neighborhood by constructing a extra supportive surroundings at Pinterest.
As a mentor, what stands out as probably the most unforgettable second whereas guiding our interns?
Essentially the most unforgettable half about mentoring my intern, Edoardo Botta, was how rapidly he was capable of ramp up onto the Pinterest Search stack and construct, practice, and deploy a foundational mannequin end-to-end. This required brainstorming over numerous whiteboard periods on the workplace and navigating by way of stacks of blockers we met alongside the best way. The method of guiding him by way of these phases was immensely rewarding and the spotlight of my mentorship expertise. One other spotlight of this expertise was additionally the every day lunches I had with Edoardo and the opposite Palo Alto interns — attending to know them and the superb tasks they’re engaged on!
David Xue
Inform us about your self!
My title is David, and I’m a Machine Studying Engineer primarily based in San Francisco, engaged on the ATG Visible workforce (also referred to as the Utilized Pc Imaginative and prescient workforce). Our comparatively small workforce tackles a variety of utilized modeling issues, together with visible search, detection, segmentation, generative AI, and extra. Over the previous 5 years, I’ve primarily labored on 0→1 tasks on the intersection of product and machine studying. Because of this, I’ve a various full-stack expertise spanning modeling, backend, and even some frontend growth. I’ve contributed to varied tasks similar to Inclusive AI (pores and skin tone and hair sample know-how), AR/3D (magnificence and residential decor), and most just lately, generative AI (picture technology, visible LLMs, and multimodal embeddings). What I’ve cherished most is the creativity, empathy, and innovation required to consider how new applied sciences can improve the Pinner expertise!
Why did you turn out to be a mentor?
I really began at Pinterest as an intern on the identical workforce! Reflecting on my expertise as an intern, I keep in mind how empowered I felt by my mentor, Josh Beal, who inspired me to take possession of great tasks that I initially doubted I might deal with. Since highschool, I’ve at all times loved schooling and tutoring, and mentorship has at all times been probably the most rewarding side of my profession. Each week, I study one thing new from my intern, whether or not it’s questioning my very own assumptions whereas explaining a modeling idea or gaining contemporary concepts on how we are able to enhance the product. The most effective moments of mentorship for me are once I really feel like I study greater than I educate.
As a mentor, what stands out as probably the most unforgettable second whereas guiding our interns?
Considered one of my most memorable moments was my intern Joyce Yuan successful one of many high prizes at Makeathon! Makeathon is our annual inner hackathon at Pinterest that brings individuals from throughout the corporate collectively for every week to construct new concepts. Joyce, regardless of being an intern, showcased her abilities and fervour by main a big workforce of interns and full-time staff. With out Joyce, the venture wouldn’t have even gotten off the bottom. The best moments for me are these the place an intern takes a venture additional and in new instructions than I might have imagined.
To study extra about engineering at Pinterest, take a look at the remainder of our Engineering Weblog and go to our Pinterest Labs web site. To discover and apply to open roles, go to our Careers web page.
