Work Samples

My Work Experience

In the spring of 2018 I had the opportunity to co-op at Virtudent, a dental startup specializing in teledentistry. This was my first engineering job, and I was the sole engineer at Virtudent. My priority was to manage and repair and maintenance of portable dental kits, which at the time were prototypes and broke often. This often meant driving on-site when they broke and figuring out how to fix them as quickly as possible. The secondary task was to improve upon the kit, and over the course of my time there I researched and tested multiple additions and fixes to the kit. I worked closely with the COO and a team of dental hygienists to incorporate both patient and hygienist feedback into the overall design of the kit and communicated their input to an outside design firm. With the help of the design firm we were able to create a new model of the kit and start a manufacturing process before my co-op ended. This experience taught me how to problem solve in a fast-paced, high pressure job with no safety net to fall back on.

After my co-op at Virtudent, I realized that the most fun I had on co-op was when I was rapid-prototyping parts in collaboration with an industrial design firm. I added a minor in experience design to my degree, which examines how user experiences can shape the design of a product. I like this design minor combined with mechanical engineering because both programs teach you how to solve problems, but they approach these problems in completely different ways. I also joined Generate, Northeastern University’s student-led product development studio, and over the fall of 2018 I worked on a team of 7 to build a phone case with a wireless charging, modular battery pack that attached via magnets. This experience confirmed for me that I wanted to work in a product development field.

In the summer of 2019 I started my second co-op at Waters Corporation, which specialized in liquid chromatography and mass spectrometers. At this job I was one of hundreds of engineers working on a highly technical, fleshed out product, which totally contrasted my experience on my first co-op at Virtudent. While the pressure on me was much lower, I was able to learn much more from my coworkers and supervisors about some different technical aspects of mechanical engineering and product design. I honed my 3D CAD and drawing skills, spent time in a machine shop, and tried my hand at coding and electrical engineering design.

Now that I feel that I have a solid foundation in problem solving, design, and practical engineering skills, I want to pursue my dream of working in product research and development at a company that has a culture of curiosity and innovation.