Internships are usually meant to be short-term, but sometimes they reveal something long-lasting: a culture that fits, a team that pushes you to grow, and work that feels real.
At Cashfree Payments, internships are designed as launchpads for meaningful, high-impact careers. For many of our interns, the transition from being an intern to a full-time engineer was less about crossing a finish line and more about continuing a journey they had already owned from the start.
We spoke with Abhishek Pratap Singh (SDE-2), Sayan Adak (SDET-2), Rishika Reddy (SDET-2), and Harshit Bansal (SDE-2) about their experiences of growing from interns into full-time engineers. Their stories reflect how our culture fosters not just technical skills but leadership, resilience, and long-term growth.
A Culture That Builds Confidence — and Delivers Ownership Early
Confidence grows fastest when encouragement is paired with real responsibility. At Cashfree Payments, that trust is extended from day one, while learning on the job.
That’s exactly what Rishika experienced. From her first week, she was contributing to live projects — an experience that made her feel both challenged and at home.
My internship here was much more hands-on and impactful than I had expected. I was involved in real projects from day one and encouraged to actively contribute,” she says. “The culture of ownership, trust, and constant encouragement to grow made me stay.
Similarly, when Sayan joined Cashfree Payments in his third year of college, he wasn’t expecting to be handed ownership of major features from the get-go. Yet very soon, he was navigating complex cross-functional initiatives like Digital Escrow and Amazon Wallet UPI integration.
I had the opportunity to contribute extensively to product quality for major features in the Payouts domain, including Digital Escrow and Amazon Wallet UPI integration,” he recalls. “Ownership comes naturally when you’re surrounded by people who support your ideas and growth.
Harshit, too, experienced a different kind of start than he had anticipated.
Coming straight from college, I expected the internship to be mostly about learning and working on small, isolated tasks. But I got hands-on exposure to real production systems, where even the smallest change could impact live transactions,
Harshit shares.
Abhishek remembers the moment when, still an intern, he was tasked with integrating a new payment terminal across multiple microservices.
“It felt massive at the time, but my teammates trusted me to design the solution, plan the rollout, and ensure monitoring independently,” added Abhishek.
That culture extends beyond individual tasks. Our teams are structured around collaboration, so every challenge turns into a learning opportunity for all.
The team culture has had a big impact on both my growth and confidence. One of the things I appreciate is how the team handles production issues. Everyone comes together to understand and fix the issue as quickly as possible. That sense of shared responsibility builds a supportive environment where you can grow without fear of making mistakes, he adds
This level of early trust is possible because teams stay accessible, open, and responsive. That accessibility builds the kind of confidence that lasts well beyond the internship.
“The openness within the team and across the organisation is something I value deeply,” Sayan adds. “Whether it’s a technical challenge or a new idea, you can approach anyone for help. This support boosted my confidence and allowed me to take on challenges more fearlessly,” says Sayan.
Support in Every Step, Growth in Every Role
As these team members stepped into full-time roles, they had grown professionally, and so had their approach to the work. What began as hands-on contributions evolved into deeper ownership of systems, decisions, and outcomes.
Rishika led an entire module, shaping test coverage, performance, and security. Harshit drove refund automation — a feature that shipped cleanly and delivered real customer impact. Abhishek stepped into a broader role, planning rollouts, collaborating across teams, and ensuring long-term reliability. Sayan has been building AI tools to boost productivity, including an NLP-based solution that uses LLMs to help debug integration test failures faster.
This growth was shaped not just by the work but by the people around them. Mentorship at Cashfree Payments goes beyond formal sessions or structured programs as it shows up in small, everyday moments: a thoughtful code review, a quick unblock call, a conversation that nudged them to think more deeply.
“My seniors didn’t just give solutions,” Harshit recalls. “They encouraged me to think critically and come up with my own.”
For Rishika, what stood out was the consistent mentorship she received.
“Whether it was technical guidance, regular feedback, or simply having someone to reach out to during roadblocks, the support was always there.”
For Sayan, continuing his professional journey at Cashfree Payments felt like the natural next step. He said that he has always found mentors accessible and willing to help, whether it was resolving blockers or exploring new ideas.
“Whenever I faced blockers, I reached out to peers or mentors without hesitation,” he said.
“The transition felt natural because the environment remained the same. There wasn’t a single moment, but a series of experiences that made it clear this was the right place for me.”
What started as internship projects turned into real responsibilities, with the support of teams that guided team members through each stage. With every challenge, they built confidence, improved their skills, and took on bigger roles. This is a reflection of how our culture nurtures high-impact tech teams from day one.
If you’re looking for a place that values learning, ownership, and real impact from day one, explore opportunities on our Careers page.
