“At the heart of the tech industry”: ’24 alumnus Sahil Gothoskar on how he planned for success

For Sahil Gothoskar, a recent Silicon Valley campus graduate from the College of Engineering, joining tech giant Bytedance as a site reliability engineer is an achievement made possible by his classroom and co-op experiences – and a commitment to network with and learn from Bay Area professionals.

At Bytedance, Gothoskar has joined the video infrastructure team, working with engineers to help make sure the application remains stable and that users don’t experience issues with streaming videos on TikTok. He previously worked as a site reliability engineer for Qualys after graduating from Northeastern in 2024.

Gothoskar started at Northeastern’s Boston campus but later transferred to the Silicon Valley campus, both for the weather he preferred and to be closer to the heart of the tech industry he would later join. The College of Engineering’s MS in Information Systems program provided him an opportunity to level up his technical skills and the disciplinary flexibility he wanted.

“I was able to choose the courses that I loved, like Cloud Computing and Network Structures,” Gothoskar said. “The project we did was a live project that helped me ace my interviews. Beyond my courses in information systems, I leveraged the multidisciplinary aspect of Northeastern to choose electives from the rest of the program.”

Gothoskar took courses on software quality and control management, which gave him hands on experience with testing and quality assurance. His classwork translated into his experience on co-op with Denver-based Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, the owner of several Colorado teams, including the Denver Nuggets basketball team. At Kroenke, he helped build a new custom dashboard for critical metrics and manage the transition of legacy domains from GoDaddy to AWS.

“It was a life-changing experience for me,” he said. “I came from cybersecurity and networking domains and got the opportunity to work as a DevOps engineering and cloud IT intern at Kroenke, where I implemented what I learned at Northeastern. During my internship, I was fortunate enough to participate in a celebration rally and touch the championship trophy.”

Sahil Gothoskar with the NBA Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, which the Denver Nuggets won during his internship in 2023.

In addition to his technical skills, Gothoskar also stood out for his work with the College of Engineering as a teaching and research assistant for co-op faculty member Erica Hatzievgenakis. He helped her with a course to prepare students for co-op, where he was able to share his experiences from co-op and the job market with the students. He also contributed to one of her research projects.

“[Hatzievgenakis] worked to find how many people in the Bay Area were recent alumni of Northeastern and then connected them to Northeastern for current students to learn from them,” Gothoskar continued. “I prepared banners, promoted events, and prepared session materials. It was a good experience for me because I was able to bring my creative side to it. Through these positions, I worked closely with the students and really helped them understand the job market.”

The skills that Gothoskar helped students develop directly applied to his own job search in a challenging market. He recommends that students prepare for the interview process, as he sees this as their main hurdle. He also advises current students and recent alumni to connect with their peers and actively network in the Bay Area by going to events, as well as building small projects to showcase their skills and help their resume stand out.

Erica Hatzievgenakis, right, with Sahil and his poster summarizing his internship role for a campus showcase.

“The Bay Area is where the startups go,” he said. “If you are living there, you should connect with the individuals who can help your career. Speak to recent graduates, connect on LinkedIn, go to conferences, and meet CEOs at local events. If you are missing a skill, get advice and upgrade your skillset. The peers who get full-time positions are the ones with the mindset to stand out from the crowd.”

Prior to the MSIS program at Northeastern, Gothoskar worked for India-based security and compliance company Qualys. He emphasizes his networking advice as especially applicable for international students and recommends becoming a student ambassador for Northeastern.

“Coming from an international background, you have to network,” he added. “With the Silicon Valley campus in the heart of San Jose, students are fortunate to be able to participate with huge companies. Many of my peers have been ambassadors for Northeastern, which helped connect them with hiring managers and get things moving for full time jobs or internships.”

Outside of his work, Gothoskar enjoys playing badminton and traveling to nearby National Parks with his friends and family. He is a hiking enthusiast – an activity well-suited to Colorado and now his home of California.