Mechanical Engineering Co-op at Apple Leads to Full-Time Position
During his co-op at Apple, Sam Scroggie, E’25, mechanical engineering, worked as a camera process engineer overseeing manufacturing of new cameras in development used in Apple products as well as troubleshooting failures. His success landed him a full-time job upon graduation.
This article originally appeared on Northeastern Global News. It was published by Kate Rix. Main photo: Northeastern University mechanical engineering student Sam Scroggie developed cameras for Apple during co-op. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
This Northeastern co-op made sure your Apple iPhone did not fail
As a camera process engineer co-op at Apple, half of Sam Scroggie’s job was to oversee manufacturing of new cameras in development used in Apple products.
The other half was to figure out what was wrong when a camera failed on the line.
“One of the great things about working with Apple is you have all of these advanced tools in your arsenal you can use to understand why those cameras failed,” says Scroggie, who will graduate from Northeastern University this spring with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
“I began to develop a sensitivity to this sort of stuff, which just speeds up the process,” he says. “That intuition helps with the failure analysis process, especially if you’ve seen it before.”
That sensitivity won’t go to waste, now that Scroggie’s co-op at Apple’s Cupertino, California, headquarters is over. Back in Boston this semester to complete his mechanical engineering degree, Scroggie will return full time to Cupertino after graduation to pick up where he left off.
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Left photo: headshot of Sam Scroggie in lab. Right photo: Sam Scroggie working in a lab. Photos by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
“I will be going back to the same team, in the same capacity, doing the same job,” he says. But this time, he’ll be able to make manufacturing decisions he didn’t get to make during his co-op. “When I go back, I’ll have the opportunity to start from the very beginning of the process.”
Scroggie, who grew up in Hong Kong, was the point of contact for the camera process engineering department, which sets up manufacturing for Apple’s new and in-development cameras. Scroggie worked with the engineers from concept all the way to mass production, helping to make decisions about changes along the way.
Read full story at Northeastern Global News