From PhD to Research Engineer

Kaleigh Mentzer, a Research Engineer at Granica, shares how she went from a PhD in Computational & Mathematical Engineering to building machine learning-powered products at a startup.

👔 The Job 👔

Kaleigh Mentzer is a Research Engineer at Granica in Mountain View, CA. She works on everything from pure research (publishing papers) to applied research (building out products with potential customers).

Her day-to-day includes coding, math, and training machine learning models — but what she enjoys most is being involved in the full pipeline from research to product. Startups mean flexibility, and she thrives in that space.

Best part of the job:

• Getting to shape a product from the ground up — and working on a small, dedicated team where research directly drives outcomes.

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🛣️ The Path 🛣️

Kaleigh didn’t plan this path — but she followed her instincts. When a recruiter messaged her on LinkedIn about a role, she only took it seriously because they mentioned Granica’s Chief Scientist — a Stanford professor she had taken a class from and thought highly of.

Key steps in her career journey:

• PhD Graduate ➡️ Research Engineer at Granica

It’s a good reminder: cold outreach isn’t always so cold — context and connection matter.

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🧠 The Decision 🧠

Kaleigh’s choice to leave academia came down to a mismatch in values. Watching her early-career advisor navigate tenure made her realize that wasn’t the lifestyle she wanted.

She also never felt like she found the right academic niche — her skillset didn’t quite “fit.” But outside academia? There was room to make her own.

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💡 The Advice 💡

1. Academia isn’t the only definition of success: In grad school, it seems like the ‘successful’ students get faculty jobs. That’s a skewed view from inside. Most people in industry don’t see it that way.

2. Most rejections aren’t about you: Hiring can be messy maybe the job spec was unclear, or the team changed directions, or they ended up hiring someone totally different. Sometimes it’s not personal.

3. It’s normal to struggle in your first job: It’s okay if the transition takes time. You’ll figure it out.

So many people I spoke to said that they were totally panicking/lost for like the first 3 months of the job - so don't worry if you're in that boat - you'll figure it out!

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🔑 The Takeaway 🔑

Kaleigh’s story is a testament to the power of following your gut, being open to where your skills can shine, and having patience with yourself and the process.

Your PhD can take you further than you imagined — especially if you’re willing to rewrite the rules of what success looks like.