Kean Computer Science Graduate Lands Dream Job with Amazon Web Services

When Aditya Parekh ‘25 attended an on-campus event at Kean University with leaders from Amazon Web Services (AWS), he didn’t expect it would lead to his first full-time role. Just weeks after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, he joined AWS as a software engineer.

He started in June as a Level I software engineer on the team behind Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, a service that supports the deployment and hosting of AI agents.

Parekh first connected with AWS at an on-campus Youth Bootcamp and generative AI workshop hosted at Kean. After winning a Kahoot! competition during the event, he met an AWS recruiter, which soon led to interviews and ultimately a job offer.

“He was genuinely excited about the opportunity, made sure to attend and took full advantage of meeting AWS employees,” said Brianna Rivera, MAFP, a professional services specialist who helped bring the event to Kean. “His passion and ability to connect with others truly set him apart and made him an excellent fit for AWS.”

“Getting this job was like a dream,” Parekh said. “It feels surreal, like I've achieved a lifetime goal.”

Parekh brought extensive experience to AWS, much of it gained at Kean.

In research supervised by Daehan Kwak, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Technology, Parekh equipped map applications to connect with traffic-light cameras, providing drivers with real-time images of landmarks along their routes. He presented the work at several conferences, and the findings are slated for publication.

“Aditya was an outstanding student whose combination of technical skill, intellectual curiosity and persistence made him a pleasure to mentor,” Kwak said. “He approached every project with careful analysis and creative problem-solving, often exceeding expectations for depth and quality.”

Parekh helped revive Kean’s Association of Computing Machinery, ultimately serving as the association’s vice president, and worked as a supplemental instructor and tutor.

“Those activities boosted my leadership and teaching skills,” he said, “which are very useful at AWS.”

Also during his time at Kean, he completed internships, earned certificates and took online courses, including some that simulated job experiences, to sharpen his skills.

Those skills are now serving him well in his new role and, though the standards are high and innovation is fast at AWS, Parekh said his team has been supportive from day one.

“Everyone is always learning, and I’m regularly asked for my input because it might bring a fresh perspective,” he said.

Colleague Kevin Orellana called him “an adaptable and collaborative teammate” who quickly made an impact.

“Aditya is exceptionally skilled at diving deep into new systems and asking the right questions at the right time to help our team move forward,” Orellana said. “He played a key role in stabilizing a major launch by enhancing our release and testing processes by creating simulations that mimic customer traffic to ensure every release functions flawlessly.”

Parekh’s determination grew out of the mindset he built as a student, and it’s the approach he now encourages others to take.

“School is great, and so is getting a high GPA, but that's not enough to land you a good job in the tech industry,” he said. “If you want to stay out in front of the competition, you need to become the best at what you're interested in. School teaches you the fundamentals, but you need to prove you can apply them.”