Pivoting to Product: Justin Jin’s Internship at IBM

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Internship Company: IBM

Internship Department: Infrastructure - IBM Fusion

Internship Location: Austin, TX

Position Before MBA: Senior Software Engineer

Company Before MBA: Sabre Corporation

How did you secure your internship?

I found the posting on LinkedIn while searching for product management (PM) internships, and I saw that this job description matched my background in technology and decided to apply. I tailored my resume to the role, emphasized the parts of my engineering background most relevant to the job, and did my own research on the company so I could speak specifically about the product and where I could provide value.

What were your responsibilities during the internship?

During the summer, I owned two projects end-to-end. The first was building and launching an AI-powered seller enablement tool from concept to working prototype. The second was a three-day enablement event for sellers, where I led both the marketing that drove attendance and the production of the event itself, working closely with executives and speakers.

How did your MBA coursework prepare you for this internship?

All my classes I took at Rice were extremely helpful during my internship. For instance, Core Marketing helped me understand how to promote events and get participants excited. My product management elective helped me shift more into a user-first mindset. Core Communications was essential in presenting myself during interviews and later when it came time to demo my final projects.

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How did the internship align with your career goals?

It was exactly the pivot I came to business school to make. After six years as a software engineer, I wanted to move into product management, where I could combine my technical expertise with customer and business strategy. This internship let me do the full PM job by letting me talk to users, define requirements and ship something people would actually use.  

What was your favorite part of your internship experience?

My favorite part was working with people from different backgrounds. On any given day, I might be working with PMs, sales, marketing, UX designers or software engineers. I enjoyed listening to and learning from so many different perspectives. Austin itself was a close second: I got to tour Q2 Stadium, played pickleball with other interns, hiked, swam at natural springs and ate good food!

What advice do you have for prospective students?

I would say, be curious but intentional. Come in with a game plan for what you want to learn while you're here. If you don't know exactly what that is yet, that's fine – but be proactive about finding the right people to steer you in the right direction. Reach out to your classmates and second-years; they're one of the best resources you have. And most of all, enjoy your time here. It goes fast.

Justin Jin is a Full-Time MBA student in the Class of 2027.