What Does It Take To Be A Top 100 Intern? This Rising Star In The Aerospace & Defense Industry Has The Answer

Some people shoot for the moon. An engineering intern at one of the nation’s premier private aerospace and defense companies — Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) — aims higher.

Kripash Shrestha is not your average engineering student. He has his sights set on a successful career. For Kripash, that means working for a company where he not only can work on his preferred tech (autonomous systems), but also work for a mission he believes is paramount. And, with this internship, he’s doing just that.

This determination helped earn Kripash a spot on the WayUp Intern 100 list for 2018. If you’re interested in the space, defense or cybersecurity industries, you won’t want to miss what Kripash had to say about his remarkable internship at SNC.

What It’s Like To Intern At A Leading Space & Defense Company?

SNC is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with technology in the most critical sectors of engineering. The SNC team works with jets, spacecraft, probes, rovers, drones, cybersecurity – and even high-tech gear to help soldiers in the field.­­

With so much on the line, it’s hard to imagine SNC interns taking on real responsibility. Kripash, however, says that’s not the case at all.

“When you think of internships, you think of some companies giving low work to the interns,” he says.

“But here, you’re getting a lot of good opportunities and experience. You’re documenting code, and getting the same experience other software engineers are doing at the same time. I’m sure 100 percent this expands to other departments.”

So what exactly does Kripash do?

“I’ve been working on the Navigation and Landing Systems (NLS) team. Specifically, I’ve been helping with all-weather precision approach and landing systems,” he said, which means he’s contributing to the software systems that help some of the most advanced unmanned aerial vehicles take off and land safely.

What It’s Like To Be Named A Top 100 Intern?

“My family made a big deal about it. People in the company congratulated me,” Kripash said.

While he remains humble, the engineer-in-the-making admitted it was a great reminder that he’s headed in the right direction.

“It just feels really nice, and tells me that I’m doing good work, and that I should continue improving on what I’m doing. So I’m raising the standard for myself,” he said.

Don’t let Kripash’s humility fool you. Being named a WayUp 100 intern was no easy feat.

He competed against interns from a swath of industries and companies. The process included rounds of public voting, manager recommendations and a panel of expert judges who finally narrowed down the exclusive list.

(For a full look at WayUp’s Intern 100 list and the interns who made the cut, click here.)

Kripash said he would “definitely recommend” the SNC internship program (which landed a spot on WayUp’s Top 100 Internship Programs list) to other prospective interns, “especially if they’re interested in space, defense or navigation landing systems.”

In fact, Kripash liked SNC’s program so much, he opted to join their co-op program. He’s currently working three days a week at SNC in tandem with his senior year of college.

Want to learn more about a Top 100 intern program (that produces Top 100 interns like Kripash)? Do you want to start your own career in aerospace and defense? Check out SNC on WayUp now!