Bill with Summer Interns
What is our hiring philosophy?
Grow by hiring, developing, and recognizing the best.
Why an Internship Program?
At SIGMADESIGN, we believe the inventive work we are doing is exciting and revolutionizing. We believe this creative and scientific work must continue long-term, so we are making efforts to invest in the next generation of engineers and designers. Our hope is that this next generation will continue to develop the best products for decades to come. In our Summer Internship Program, we have engaged four interns who will increase their skills and broaden their experience in the engineering and design industry. Our goal is that they complete their internship with a deeper comprehension of this industry. Additionally, we anticipate that they will be better equipped to work as engineers and designers in the future.
samantha with MJF
“At SIGMADESIGN, the students have visibility of a wide variety of engineering disciplines and associated specialties that will help them decide what type of career they want to pursue. I find it very satisfying to offer them this unique exposure to the real world of engineering. They do not get this type of view in the academic world.” (Bill Huseby, President)
After posting these summer internships on TALEO, our website, Handshake and local college job boards, we had a very large amount of applications pour in. The applicants ranged from students in the Vancouver/ Portland area to grad students from Stanford. The interest in these positions thrills us and makes us feel honored to offer this opportunity to these emerging engineers.
“I want to see what people do in the industry. You don’t get that in college. I want to see what goes on in an engineering firm and get some experience. That way I can figure out what I want to do after graduation.” (Samantha Schauer)
What will this Internship Program accomplish?
Samantha and Carson
The aim of the program is to give students a hands on, interdisciplinary experience. The goal is that they will better understand how a product goes from concept through production. At SIGMADESIGN, we are uniquely equipped to give students this experience because we house the disciplines of each phase in this process under a single roof. We are confident that at the end of the summer, these students will have acquired more cleverness and ability within their discipline. We also anticipate that they will have a better understanding of how their discipline interacts with other disciplines in order to create the best products in a thorough but efficient process.
How will SIGMADESIGN accomplish these goals?
Brittany Firmware Engineer Intern
At the beginning of this internship program, each student received a 1-2 week project. We discovered their strengths and also the areas that needed strengthening. Once the intern completed the brief project, they received a core project which focuses within their discipline and will last all summer long. However, they also took on “filler” projects to complete along with their core project. The aim is for these interns to grow in time management, to grow in their ability to multi-task, and to gain experience in working on a variety of projects with people outside their discipline. They will be working with Mechanical Engineers, Software/ Firmware Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Technicians, Machine Operators and Project Managers to name a few. Additionally, we assigned a designated mentor to each intern. This mentor answers questions, shares expertise, or points the intern in the right direction for resources they may need.
“I am doing a week in the shop, week in the lab, week in the testing lab. I’ve had so much fun just learning, this is how the 3D printer works, this is how the CNC machine works.” (Carson Huseby)
This is all very intentional and technical. But at SIGMADESIGN, we also believe in taking time to laugh. That is why we challenged each intern to complete a scavenger hunt. This hunt not only sends them to the shop and lab to meet the operators and technicians and become better acquainted with the machines and tools. It also pushes them to get to know the fun culture at SIGMADESIGN. Interns attend Culture Club meetings and volunteer to work at Culture Club events.
The Core Value of TAKE TIME TO LAUGH plays out in a variety of ways at SIGMADESIGN. So if you visit our office, be sure to look up as you may see an intern at the top of the rock wall. And if you visit the engineering floor, you may be caught in the middle of a nerf gun war initiated by one of our interns.
Brittany and Samantha
“I have never seen a company who cares for their employees as much as SIGMADESIGN does. From weekly bagel days and monthly happy hours to random nerf gun wars, SIGMADESIGN finds that work/personal life balance. They went above and beyond my expectations for any employer.” (Brittany Wood)
At the end of the day, we desire that these future engineers will learn and grow by focusing on their core project and filler projects. But we also anticipate that they will meet a host of people and have fun doing it. So to our interns Brittany, Carson, Hayley, and Samantha – welcome to the team! We are excited to see all that is in store for you this summer! And we are thrilled to play a part in your journey towards Engineering Success.