Cameron is spending his summer as a production intern at Janicki. He is studying mechanical engineering at the Colorado School of Mines and first heard about the company at a spring career fair. He started in May and is a couple of months in.
His days start early, with a coffee and a team check-in on which projects are active before he gets to work. No two days look quite the same. Depending on what is on the floor, he might be drilling, working with composites, or fitting parts together. Much of his work is building large assemblies from the ground up, combining machined metallic parts with carbon fiber composites made in house, a full build that comes together over roughly six weeks. What he values most is the hands-on side. Rather than imagining how a design will behave on a computer, he gets to build it and see what works.
The culture is what stood out most. He compares his team to a sports or project team where everyone cares about the outcome and about each other. Coworkers across engineering, manufacturing and project management have taught him well beyond his job description, and he says his manager treats him as a capable contributor, not just an intern.
That hands-on streak runs through his life outside work too. At school, Cameron is part of Mines Pack Mules, an electric vehicle club at the Colorado School of Mines. Off campus, he spends his time snowboarding and working on cars.
His advice to anyone considering applying is simple: what is the worst that could happen? Apply. He points to the value of real hands-on experience over classroom theory, and to being trusted with real problems from the start.
Written by Turner McIalwain, Marketing Intern
Are you interested in becoming a Janicki intern? Visit our Internships page for more information.
Kailee grew up in Mount Vernon and has family in Sedro-Woolley, so she had heard about Janicki before applying. She found the position through an online job board and applied. Now, she splits her time between the production floor and the office, working mainly with the training team and helping with operational excellence.
Barrett found out about Janicki through a friend who had worked in engineering there and encouraged him to apply. His brother works in IT in an office setting, so Barrett expected more basic work than what he has taken on. He quickly learned that IT supports the whole company, and he has gotten to travel to almost all Janicki sites as part of the work.
Coffee and Donuts Kickoff
Intern questions ranged from navigating large corporate environments versus smaller companies to career mistakes and transitioning from engineering to management. Mike spoke about “inflection points” in his career, key moments when seizing an opportunity, gaining a new skill, or meeting the right person significantly changed his trajectory. Robbie emphasized the importance of early effort and making the most of free time to maintain work-life balance. Kevin reflected on his lifelong passion for aviation, advising interns, “Find something that gets you to jump out of bed in the morning.”
His interest in the field began at a young age. With a father who is both a civil engineer and a Navy veteran, Ethan was introduced to engineering early on and always felt it was a path he wanted to consider.
At Gonzaga, Ethan is an active member of the 
Her advice for future interns:
Cory first learned about Janicki at a career fair and was drawn to the company due to his background in composites. He saw the internship as an opportunity to deepen his technical knowledge and gain real-world experience.
