At CAW, our Associate Software Engineers (1-year interns) are treated as early-career engineers, not observers. From the early stages of the internship, interns are exposed to real production projects, work with experienced teams, and learn under close mentorship from senior engineers and tech leads.

From the second quarter of the internship, Associate Software Engineers will be evaluated using the Software Engineer I (SE-I) KRAs. This reflects our belief that, with the proper guidance and real-world exposure, interns can grow into entry-level software engineers during their internships.

The intent is not to create pressure, but to:

• Set clear expectations early
• Provide structured, meaningful feedback
• Help interns understand what “good” looks like for an entry-level engineer at CAW

Evaluations will always consider the learning context, level of guidance required, and the fact that interns are still building fundamentals. Managers and mentors are expected to support interns actively and use the SE-I KRAs as a growth framework, not a pass/fail checklist.

Our goal is simple:

By the end of the internship, every Associate Software Engineer should feel confident, capable, and well-prepared to step into a full-time Software Engineer I role.