Credits - Chaitanya Katti, B.Tech, Mechanical Engineering 2025

⁠Where was your third-year summer internship? Domain, Company and City

I interned at Kenvue, Bangalore. Kenvue was formerly the Consumer Healthcare division of Johnson & Johnson. My task was involved in the domain of supply chain. I was an intern in the data science team for 2 months.

⁠Can you tell us about the work you were assigned during your internship? What were your responsibilities?

I was enrolled as a data science intern. My task was to improve the existing ML model for recommending SKU’s to retailers across India. This was being done to improve sales and profits for the company. I was given large datasets to work with and my time was mostly spent on Python programming. I had to experiment with newer techniques for building recommendation models. I was required to give weekly updates to the team lead. I was also required to present my work to the global team during the mid-review and final-review meets.

Describe a typical day at your internship. How were your interactions on a daily basis?

Kenvue has a flexible attendance policy. Most employees worked 6-hour shifts, starting either at 9 AM or 11 AM, and completed the remainder of their hours remotely. Since a significant portion of Kenvue’s sales occur in the USA, many employees worked later than 5 PM to coordinate with the global team. I lived nearby, so I typically arrived by 9 AM. However, I often stayed beyond 5 PM to socialize with my colleagues. My days were mostly spent programming in Python on Databricks and working with machine learning models. A few times each day, I would meet with my mentor to discuss my progress and share the results of my work. To wrap up the day, I would often have a fun table tennis match with members of the data science team and other co-interns.

Any skills or tools you felt were essential for your internship?

A good understanding of the basic ML algorithms and recommender systems was a must. Not only that, good data engineering skills like data cleaning, feature engineering, EDA, and building pipelines were very essential. Being able to code fast and try out new ideas allowed me to find what works and what doesn’t.

What is something you didn’t know would be a relevant skill to have but helped you in your internship, or what was a skill you were surprised to figure out you needed for your internship?

The existing solution was written using R language. I wasn’t comfortable using it and went through the trouble of porting the code to Python. Maybe I could have saved some time by just working with R. A basic understanding of the supply chain would have helped me get up to speed with the requirements for my task. The existing ML model was built on various datasets, each with lots of domain specific variables. It took me nearly 3 weeks to finally code my first iteration.

How was your transition to the city, accommodation, food, and transportation?

Bangalore was a familiar city given that I speak Kannada. For the first week we were given accommodation in Marriott hotel. I later booked a PG just 5 min away from the office. Although Kenvue provided cab services, I walked to the office everyday. I ate breakfast and dinner at PG while lunch was served in the office.

How is the work culture like at the company? Were there any inspirational people you met?

The work culture at Kenvue was very welcoming and friendly. Being a new company, this was their first time hiring interns, and they made sure to create a supportive environment. The team had a good work-life balance, with employees working from home twice a week. Unless specifically needed, you could always take the option to work remotely. I was even given a week off to visit the UK for a tech competition. I did meet some inspiring individuals who had been in this field for more than 10 years. One of my mentors who previously worked in JnJ used to take sessions and explain to us in detail the supply chain and logistics. Another fellow there had built his career working in the startup Grofers until it became Blinkit. Hearing his story made me realise how important it is to gather as much knowledge as possible in early stages of your career.

Your personal goals and journey and how this internship shaped/affected the same.

My goal for the internship was to gain a better understanding of corporate life. While the experience wasn’t as exciting as I had hoped, it was insightful in its own way. I didn’t see significant growth in my data science knowledge, as the work didn’t involve cutting-edge technologies or deep learning. However, I did gain a deeper understanding of the consumer healthcare industry and its supply chain. As Kenvue is transitioning from being part of Johnson & Johnson, there was some confusion about the feasibility and deployment of my project. This uncertainty led to a sense of stagnation towards the end, as the solution I was working on required further iterations and real-world testing that would take months to complete. This made me realize that I’m more interested in research than corporate work. I came into the internship as an academic, and now, I am certain that pursuing a master’s degree and going into research is the right path for me.

Any advice for people going to work in the same company?

My advice for anyone joining Kenvue would be to embrace the learning opportunities. The team is very supportive, and you’ll benefit from collaborating with experienced professionals who are eager to share their knowledge. There’s an excellent work-life balance that you can use to your advantage. Since Kenvue is still growing and evolving, don’t hesitate to experiment with new ideas and look at other projects as well. Also, understanding the domain you’re working in is crucial. Taking the time to learn about the supply chain/logistics or other business aspects will help you make more meaningful contributions.