Mkrtich Hovsepyan – most people call him Mko –  is an intern at Rapid7’s fast-growing office in Prague. He graduated from the luminous Charles University in Prague, and is currently a first-year master’s student in Artificial Intelligence there. He was in our first impressive crop of interns, and is sharing his experience as we gear up for our next wave of intern hiring.

How would you summarize your internship with Rapid7?

My internship as a Data Engineering Intern at Rapid7 was an enriching experience where I learned about the processes and pipelines of how data is processed and later utilized for Business Analytics and other spheres. Many people think data engineering is just about knowing SQL, but for me, SQL was only a small part of the role. I worked on projects that . allowed me to develop my skills in creating ETL processes and other data workflows. Most importantly, I honed my soft skills, and it was easy to do so because the team and management were very supportive.

What advice would you give your past self before starting your internship?

My advice would be to communicate with as many people as possible. Since your team might be working from different parts of the globe, it can become a bit challenging to connect when you don’t have common lunches or in-person meetings. Rapid7 offers opportunities like Insight Coffees to meet different kinds of people and enhance communication. Also, a friendly tip: try not to merge PRs on a Friday!

What support have you been given while at Rapid7?

I really liked that I was seen as someone worth investing in for the future. This meant my team let me try things on my own, giving me the chance to succeed and also to fail sometimes (and yes, there were a few “interesting surprises” along the way!). They knew that making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn and get better. I’m thankful to my teammates who spent a lot of time explaining the basic processes to me.

What has been your favorite experience while at Rapid7?

We were celebrating the first anniversary of the Rapid7 office in Prague, and there was a fun challenge to gather nine signatures from nine different people. The interesting part was that each person had specific characteristics you had to find - like someone working in a specific team, someone with a sticker on their laptop, or even someone whose shoe size is a prime number! It was a great way to meet new colleagues across different teams.

How would you summarize the culture in 3 words?

Open-Minded, Innovative, Transparent.

At Rapid7, we’re working to create a secure digital world for our customers, our industry, and our communities. We give organizations command of their attack surface with the most adaptive, predictive, and responsive cybersecurity platform – and meaningful, impactful partnership.

The Rapid7 office in Prauge opened in October 2023, and has quickly grown to support all areas of our business. Learn more and browse our latest job openings here: https://careers.rapid7.com/rapid7-in-prague