Software Engineering Intern Review

Day-to-day work included attending team meetings (e.g. stand-ups, backlog reviews, retrospectives) as well as software engineering work on the team's project. This involved picking up Jira tickets and working through them with another member of the team (pair programming is the standard at Redgate, including non-interns). Research calls are also a regular feature, and I participating in around 1 a week whilst I was there.

I have significantly developed my problem solving, communication and team-working skills during my time at Redgate. The company has a really healthy environment for trying things you're new to (e.g. facilitating meetings, presenting for your team, talking to customers) and supporting you in that. My technical skills also came on a lot, as I gained familiarity with C#, TypeScript and tools like Rider and SSMS.

Redgate treats its interns as junior software engineers who need more help, and this means they are given similar responsibility as other members of the team. From day 2 I was working on real code and not long after trusted to pick up tickets and complete them fairly independently. Interns also end up on the team's rota for facilitating meetings, performing support work etc. allowing them to take on even more responsibility in the team.

Redgate has a really strong culture of professional development and mutual support that extends to its intern programme. Other members of the team were happy to share their understanding of the codebase and provide their insights when stuck. Pair programming being the standard really helps here, since frequently a pair would consist of someone experienced with the problem and someone not (as an intern, that was often me). This supports the less experienced member of the pair and ensures they can get to grips with what is going on. Redgate also assigns each intern an "intern manager" as their line manager and point of contact throughout the internship. I was onboarded effectively by my intern manager and following that we had regular catch-ups and one-to-ones to track my progress and as a place for me to raise any issues.

The company culture was really positive and for the most part is a really healthy environment in which to work. Redgate clearly cares about its staff and promotes a good sense of "togetherness", without falling into the classic tech company trap of ignoring work/life balance. Regular retrospectives within teams provide a good forum for addressing any tensions or issues in a mature way without devolving into office politics. Schemes like the "feel good fund" also help build strong team cohesion.

My internship at Regate was easily the best summer I've had since starting university. While day-to-day responsibilities stay the same, no two days are ever the same and being able to work on a real project is both engaging and challenging, in a fun way. As a company, Redgate really knows how to welcome people and bring them into the community, and I'm very glad I was able to join the Redgate family for a summer.

Yes

Technical skills are important in the interview, but Redgate is a company that really thrives off collaboration, so it's important to make sure you can articulate your thoughts and come across as a friendly team-player. If you get stuck on the technical side, it's important you're able to narrate your thought-process so the interviewers understand how you think (and that you are in fact thinking).