Career Transformation Through Co-op and Classroom Experiences
Rakesh Soni, MS’25, software engineering systems, was able to transform his career through innovative classroom projects and exceptional co-op opportunities.
Rakesh Soni is a graduate student in the MS in software engineering systems program. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering. After completing his undergraduate studies, he ventured into the startup world, co-founding and contributing to projects in e-commerce and managed services. These experiences sparked his passion for building products and solving real-world problems.
He later transitioned into consulting as a data scientist, working for nearly three years across various industries. This role sharpened his skills in AI/ML, analytics, data modeling, and Python automations, and also helped him gain a clearer vision for his future growth in tech.
Soni chose Northeastern University after realizing he wanted to stay involved in innovation, and the university’s academic environment offered exactly that. He was drawn to a space where cutting-edge technology meets real-world impact. Soni said, “I didn’t just want a degree—I wanted real-world exposure,” and Northeastern’s experiential learning model stood out to him. The curriculum gave him the flexibility to grow into a full-stack AI engineer, capable of building models and delivering end-to-end solutions. To stay ahead of emerging trends, he focused on courses like the “Fundamentals of Generative AI”.
As Soni’s journey progressed, he found inspiring mentors and professors who made a lasting impact, especially Professor Kwong, with whom he worked for nearly a year side by side on a full GenAI-powered academic product. Soni was a research assistant under Professor Kwong’s guidance, whose mentorship guided Soni throughout his time at Northeastern. Their project, focused on grading and feedback automation in education, used agentic AI and real-time evaluation to deliver an end-to-end Edtech AI solution. Soni still considers it one of the most meaningful projects he’s been a part of.
Adjunct Professor Debbie Knowlton’s “Business Analysis” class was one of the most hands-on courses Soni took, teaching him vital skills like communication, stakeholder management, and structured thinking, helping him develop a tech leader’s mindset.
The ENCP Co-op course, led by Associate Co-op Coordinator Gail Schwartz, was especially valuable during Soni’s transition from India to the US. It provided practical tools for interviewing, networking, and resume-building just when he needed them most. Beyond the classroom, Professor Schwartz offered ongoing encouragement, referrals, and honest advice, believing in him even as he navigated the early stages of his career, making a significant difference in his journey.
Co-op Experience
Soni secured a co-op at Amazon as a business intelligence engineer, working with the Prime Video team on a new KPI called “Time to Payback”. His role involved analyzing customer viewing journeys to understand how long it takes for content to deliver value based on streaming behavior, and how this impacts engagement and retention. He conducted large-scale data analysis using SQL, Redshift, QuickSight and Python, and worked with cloud-based data pipelines. Additionally, he explored GenAI tools to enhance reporting, blending technical analysis with business insight.
Projects and Innovations
One of Soni’s most exciting projects was a real-time review analysis tool inspired by Amazon Rufus. Designed to help users make informed online shopping decisions, the system pulls real-time reviews from e-commerce platforms and uses a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipeline on the review data. Users can chat with an AI agent to receive concise, sentiment-aware summaries or ask specific product questions, essentially having a review expert filter through the noise for them.
One of the main challenges was sourcing clean, structured data from review platforms. Initially relying on scraping proved messy and inconsistent, but the team solved this by integrating open-source APIs – for example, using the Yelp API to fetch real-time restaurant reviews. This enabled layering a conversational AI on top, transforming the manual, from a confusing review-reading process into an easy conversational Q&A experience.
Soni believes the project has strong real-world potential. Such a tool could be integrated into e-commerce sites or apps to help users save time and make smarter purchase decisions. It could also extend to travel, hospitality, or app store reviews—anywhere users face decision fatigue from too many reviews and need clearer insights.
Extracurricular Activities
During his co-op, Soni participated in an internal Amazon hackathon, describing it as a fast-paced, collaborative experience closely tied to real business challenges. His team won the “Most Shippable Product” award—a proud moment that validated the practicality and execution focus of their solution.
They developed a tool to visualize the customer journey on Amazon Prime Video, identifying where users drop off during browsing or watching. By uncovering these insights, the team aimed to improve engagement and retention through intuitive dashboards and data stories that could directly inform product decisions.
Personal Reflection and Future Goals
Looking ahead, Soni will join Amazon in New York City as a full-time business intelligence engineer, eager to deepen his impact through data and product thinking. Long-term, he envisions leading or building something at the intersection of GenAI, education, and product. For now, his focus is on learning and growth in this exciting new chapter.
Beyond the curriculum, Soni credits the support system from professors, roommates, and friends as crucial to his success. Whether through referrals, advice, brainstorming sessions, or emotional support, he felt fortunate to be surrounded by people who genuinely cared. He also praises Northeastern’s quick adaptation to cutting-edge trends like Generative AI, with courses that offered real depth and practical relevance.
Soni sums up his Northeastern experience with these last words; “Northeastern was more than just a degree; it was a launchpad.”