Program overview

Accepted into Apple’s Next-Gen Innovators, a selective 9–10 month mentorship program connecting ~200 students nationwide with mentors from Apple’s hardware engineering teams. The program pairs college sophomores and juniors with experienced Apple engineers for monthly 1:1 mentorship, structured collaborations, and hands-on career development content.

Through workshops, mentor sessions, and cohort events, the program is designed to help participants grow technical skills, practice interviewing and resume building, and explore careers across hardware, software, and manufacturing. Apple partners with dozens of universities to provide personalized guidance and build a more diverse future engineering community.

My involvement & mentorship

I meet with my Apple mentor once a month for one-on-one guidance and attend Apple events throughout the year. Activities include technical discussions, career conversations, resume/interview practice, and exploration of hardware and manufacturing workflows. The mentorship emphasizes real-world career preparation and exposure to multiple technical disciplines.

I have been having great discussions with my mentor, Joe Zisa, a Product Design Engineer on the iPhone thermals team. Joe and I meet monthly to discuss pathways into engineering and product design. He has connected me with multiple colleagues across product development to give a broad perspective on how hardware products are designed, prototyped, tested, and manufactured at scale.

Our conversations have covered practical career guidance (resume/interview feedback and skill development), technical topics related to thermal management and mechanical packaging, and introductions to Apple engineers who work in functions such as manufacturing engineering, validation testing, and component sourcing. These connections have helped me better understand the product-development lifecycle and prioritize skills for internships and future roles.

• One-on-one mentorship: Monthly sessions with Joe focusing on technical growth and career steps.
• Network introductions: Warm introductions to Apple engineers in product development, testing, and manufacturing.
• Practical preparation: Resume review, mock interviews, and tailored project suggestions to strengthen my portfolio.
• Project guidance: Advice on prototyping, testing, and documentation to make my academic projects more industry-relevant.

This mentorship is an ongoing opportunity to translate classroom projects into industry-ready skills while receiving direct feedback from practitioners at Apple.