For some college students, the jump from classroom to professional work is a daunting one. For Jungwon Kim ’23, the transition into software engineering for a tech startup was not difficult at all — despite it being his first foray into the commercial world.
Kim was a summer intern with Pranos AI, a company that makes a system capable of transforming car windows into screens. This technology aims to unlock a new arena of advertising and storytelling for businesses and individuals alike, with transparent HD displays that may soon populate building facades as well as motor vehicles.
A computer science major, Kim said his college courses acclimatized him to general programming concepts, knowledge that proved valuable when his internship required him to work with somewhat unfamiliar technology. “It was easy to get ahold of these recurring concepts after I had learned a bunch of new languages in class,” he recalled.
Kim discovered the internship via a search on LinkedIn, after which he passed through the application and interview process while studying abroad in Denmark. In the end, he landed in a remote position that was largely autonomous. “We had an individual check-in once a week, a group check-in every other week … but other than that, it was really up to me to decide how to spend my time,” said Kim. “It wasn’t super strict; it was quite nice.”
More specifically, his day-to-day work concerned Pranos’ mobile front-end technology. This entailed the outward-facing elements of their mobile application, he explained, “as opposed to working on the back end, where the databases are.” The mobile app features prominently in the Pranos system as the primary controller for users’ displays and content.
Looking forward, Kim anticipates finding a similar job upon graduation where he can work on commercial applications and software, continuing with the kinds of tasks he focused on at Pranos.
Jungwon Kim ’23
Major: Computer Science
Hometown: Los Angeles
High School: Larchmont Charter School
