What I liked
I interned this summer as an Order Fulfillment Process Assembly Manufacturing Engineer. I provided engineering support to the assembly operations of the 8R Row Crop Tractor e23 PowerShift transmission. In this role, I was responsible for managing and delivering assembly process layout changes, integrating tooling for a new product, supporting a limited production build, and supporting continuous improvement initiatives, all to improve and maintain the quality, safety, delivery, and efficiency of John Deere’s processes and products.
While interning at John Deere, I also had the opportunity to attend an intern conference with over 500 other interns, network with peers and superiors, organize and participate in volunteer events, complete numerous trainings, do 3 job shadows, and interview 15 people in various functional areas. This has been one of the best summers of my life, mainly due to the incredible experiences I had not only at work this summer, but also due to the 110+ other interns that Deere brought to the Waterloo area. Deere knows how to recruit awesome people – the folks I met this summer were some of the most amazing, friendly, and accepting people I’ve ever met.
I loved the work culture at Deere, and, more generally, I enjoyed the mix of technical work and people management work that a manufacturing engineering role contains. I like that manufacturing engineering, in my experience, allows for a healthy mix of office and shop floor work.