Lessons Learned from Our Engineering Internships Program: Part 1

InfluxData's engineering internships program was launched in 2019 with a large class of 5 interns hired into storage and query language teams. The company aimed to develop an entry-level hiring pipeline by infusing energy and new ideas into its teams through mentorship, creating a culture of learning and growth. With the goal of getting "stuff done," InfluxData hires interns to work on products, and with patience, training, and mentorship, 100% of their interns successfully merged pull requests into production. The program is built around core values such as humility driving learning, embracing failure, and committing to open-source contributions. The outcomes of the program have exceeded expectations, with full-time engineers gaining valuable mentoring experience and interns learning new skills while making productive contributions to the company's code base.