What I Worked On

At Coca-Cola, I worked on commercial beverage dispensing equipment within the Equipment R&D group. My work focused on reliability testing, data analysis, and understanding how mechanical, electrical, and software elements come together in real, field-deployed systems. Since this was a production environment, I operated at a high level - learning how structured testing, documentation, and decision-making work at scale.

I spent a lot of time developing practical engineering skills: analyzing large datasets in Python, supporting hardware validation workflows, and learning how engineers evaluate performance tradeoffs, reliability concerns, and long-term maintenance impacts. More than anything, this role taught me how engineering decisions are actually made in industry - not just in theory, but with real constraints, timelines, and stakeholders.

How It Started

This internship ended up being an easy yes for me because the office was right next to Georgia Tech’s campus - close enough that I could walk from my apartment. Being that close made it feel less intimidating and helped me ease into my first real engineering role. It also felt nice coming back from work and chilling with my friends.

Since this was my first internship, the first couple weeks were definitely a learning curve. I didn’t have everything figured out right away, and it took time to understand how a large corporate engineering team operates. But the people around me made a huge difference. Everyone was patient, approachable, and genuinely willing to explain things, whether it was a technical question or just how processes worked.

Over time, I got more comfortable asking questions, contributing in meetings, and taking ownership of my work. By the end of the internship, I felt confident navigating the environment and had a much clearer idea of how I want to grow as an engineer moving forward.

Beyond the Desk

Outside of the day-to-day work, the experience was just fun. I got to attend company events, sit in on technical talks, meet people from all over the business, and obviously collect some solid Coca-Cola merch along the way. The Coca-Cola campus itself is genuinely beautiful and a great place to spend the workday. It was a great mix of learning, meeting cool people, and getting a real taste of what working at a large global company feels like.