Sandbox Past Event Highlights
Google Sandbox: Atlanta | Mobile & UX
The Google Sandbox: Atlanta program dove into Material Design for mobile and UX strategy on the heels of the Android Lollipop release, and participants designed their own Android Wear apps.
Attendee Quotes
“I really loved hearing about Google work environment and culture. It seems like a company made just for me. Very positive experience for me.”
“I appreciate the overall effort Google is putting into expanding its code outreach to various demographics. I admire them even more now.”
“My favorite part was having the chance to really talk to employees and realizing that work at Google is actually an attainable thing.”
“Thank you so much for giving us an opportunity to be part of Google Sandbox. The event was outstanding! The crowd was super diverse, that I loved. Google Team rocked :)”
Google Sandbox: New York | Cloud, Ads, & Commerce
The Google Sandbox: New York program spotlighted our Cloud and Ads and Commerce product areas. Participants experienced a keynote from SVP and Google Fellow Urs Holzle as well as a panel moderated by engineering director Marcus Mitchell, and learned to use the Firebase platform to create web apps.
Attendee Quotes
“Thank you so much for opening the doors to us. Google’s way of life is fascinating and it’s always refreshing to see and hear about the innovation and diversity of thought taking place.”
“I got a chance to talk with intelligent people, share knowledge together. People are simply there to learn and I really ENJOYED the positive great vibe and atmosphere!”
“When is the next event? Is it possible to have this type of event more often?”
Google Sandbox: DC | Site Reliability Engineering, Platforms, and Hardware
The Google Sandbox: DC program shared more about Site Reliability Engineering, Platforms, and Hardware Operations at Google. Participants tried their hand at code labs and design sprints intended to simulate some of the technical problems Googlers solve every day.
Attendee Quotes
“I was unsure of what to expect from an event like this but I was incredibly happy with what resulted. I feel as though I have a better sense of what mentality Google is looking for in an employee and I was glad to have a chance to speak my fellow attendees and understand their broad array of backgrounds.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Google Sandbox DC and would love to attend other sessions in the future.”
“Great event, very informative, excellent networking opportunity.”
Google Sandbox: Chicago | Virtual Reality, Android, and Google Play
The Google Sandbox: Chicago program cast a spotlight on virtual reality, Android, and Google Play product areas. Participants experienced tech talks on designing for VR, coding “in the flow”, and customer growth hacking through experiments.
Attendee Quotes
“As a Latina that has aspired to join Google for the past two years, this event was very motivating and interesting. I really appreciate how you give back to the community, particularly to minorities and women. The event truly was special and it was obvious that a lot of work went into the prep and execution. The event only deepened my excitement for Google and my yearning to help Google become more diverse.”
“I loved hearing about projects, and seeing the more imaginative side of things. I spoke one-on-one to some very friendly and kind Googlers. There seemed to be this "be yourself" culture, that I personally appreciate. I was pleasantly [sic] to meet/see other people who actively promoted/embodied diversity. I know this is something that is going to be core value in the rest of my life.”
“I thought the event was time well spent. I loved hearing more about Google products that I wasn't previously aware of, Tilt Brush specifically. I had never been very interested in VR until hearing Elisabeth Morant speak about it. The talk awakened an excitement in me for a new technology that I didn't even think was possible.”
Google Sandbox: Los Angeles | YouTube & Virtual Reality
At the Google Sandbox: Los Angeles program, participants enjoyed content focused on all things YouTube, including YouTube Sharing, Comedy, Living Room, and Virtual Reality. The program’s highlights included a lifestyle panel and a CodeLab learning experience.
Attendee Quotes
“The networking was definitely the best part of the event. Being able to talk to other Googlers, YouTubers, and under-represented groups in tech was nice. I especially enjoyed talking to other women and sharing experience with them.”
“I am amazed by the diversity of people working in Youtube/Google.”
“It was great to meet with Googlers and YouTubers and to hear them talk about their experiences at Google and YouTube, as well as some of the projects they worked on and the working atmosphere there.”
“I like the mixer part of the event before panels. And also the panels with a diverse background of people in different departments. And I really enjoyed the passion brought by the employees.”
Google Sandbox: Boston | Machine Intelligence and Cloud Machine Learning
The Google Sandbox: Boston program highlighted the Machine Intelligence and Cloud Machine Learning product areas, with a spotlight on Visualization for Machine Learning and a TensorFlow workshop, where participants learned how to work with a collection of operations combined to perform a rich set of computations.
Attendee Quotes
“Thanks for inviting me to the event! It definitely was fun and exciting to be part of it, and was a great opportunity to know how the life of engineers at Google looks like.”
“The diverse background of the panelists as well as the attendees was a nice touch.”“The introductions into the different teams on the first day were a great way to learn about the actual application of ML at google. I particularly enjoyed the visualization presentation.”
“Great event, very informative, excellent networking opportunity.”
Google Sandbox: Austin | Cloud Technical Sales
The Google Sandbox: Austin program highlighted Google’s growing Cloud business. The program featured a fireside chat with leaders within the Cloud organization, a deeper dive into what it’s like to work in Google Cloud with a Googler panel, and workshops focused on architecture design and sales skills.
Attendee Quotes
“The Sandbox event was wonderful! Ya'll did a FANTASTIC job! I really love that Google is genuinely interested in diversifying tech and starting in their own house by putting their money where their mouth is. Thank you for that! As a black woman in tech, I do not get to see many faces that look like my own. Over the last 2 evenings, I saw more black women in tech in 1 place in Austin than I have any other time in my 5+ years in tech. I took several things away from this event and one of them being that I need to do more to change that dynamic. Thank you also for everything you shared regarding Google culture - that it is truly great and it's designed so everyone is focused and driving hard to overachieve on their goals when working. It sounds like Google is even better than its reputation.”
“I truly appreciated the invitation from Google and thoroughly enjoyed my time at the event, both days, I appreciated the insight into life at Google and hope to continue the conversations started at this event.”
“This is one of the few tech events I've been to that had actual diversity. I felt energized and happy about this. Googlers felt open and honest with answers and content. The people in attendance were high quality and matched the purpose of the event."
Google Sandbox: Bucharest | Site Reliability Engineering, Security, and YouTube
The Google Sandbox: Bucharest program highlighted exciting work in the space of YouTube Content ID using neural networks as well as a deep dive into how Google protects its corporate security. Participants heard from engineers from across six European offices as part of the Engineering at Google panel and experienced product demos, including daydream.
Attendee Quotes
“To be able to innovate from any Google location... that is great. Everything that you do is visible for anyone in the company.”
“It was a pleasure for me to attend this event, the organisation was quite good, and the Googlers are really open people.”
“I had the opportunity to talk to the speakers and see that we have more things in common than I actually thought!"
Google Sandbox: Dallas | Testing & Infrastructure
The Google Sandbox: Dallas program highlighted the testing and infrastructure areas of Google. Participants explored topics such as the complexities and challenges of automated testing, cluster management, and testing hardware at scale, including a behind-the-scenes look at Google’s disaster recovery best practices.
Attendee Quotes
“For me, the event demystified Google and made the company and its employees seem extraordinarily accessible. Most of all, it was evident that the speakers had a passion for their jobs, and it’s rare to find a company that works to foster and maintain that enthusiasm.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed myself, I truly appreciated all of the insight, information, friendliness & goodies, and I would absolutely recommend anyone going to a Google Sandbox.”
“I hope that I get the chance to do this again. This experience really gave me a glimpse of where I would like to be. I really did enjoy the openness displayed by all of the speakers and I can’t help but wonder did Google have something to do with that. I think that Google did influence each one of those "Googlers" in some form or fashion. Thanks for having me.”
Google Sandbox: Seattle | Mobile, Ads, Maps, Cloud and Virtual Reality
The Google Sandbox: Seattle program focused on some of the exciting work being led by Google’s Seattle and Kirkland teams, with tech talks on topics as varied as automated testing, virtual machine migration, DIY artificial intelligence for makers, and fairness in machine learning.
Attendee Quotes
“I'm a CS student and for me, it was important to see such friendly and safe environment for everybody at Google Sandbox Seattle. This event inspired me and motivated to study even harder to achieve my ambitious goals. And of course, one of them is one day to be a part of such amazing community like you, Googlers :)”
“Yes, please have more of these type of events in Seattle (and elsewhere), that encourage diverse folks in tech that they too have a shot at getting into Google or just have the potential to be really great software engineers."
Google Sandbox: Raleigh-Durham | Site Reliability Engineering, Network Operations, Hardware Operations and Data Center Operations
The Google Sandbox: Raleigh-Durham program highlighted some of the exciting work being done by the Site Reliability Engineering, Network Operations, Hardware Operations, and Data Center Operations teams. These are the teams that keep Google up and running 24 hours a day. Participants were able to hear from various positions that make up our core infrastructure in order to maintain it in the most efficient, reliable, secure, and scalable way possible.
Attendee Quotes
"This was a great event, and you could tell all of the employees were happy to be there and answer any questions we had!"
"Overall it was a great experience, and I look forward to researching opportunities at Google."
"I enjoyed hearing about the lives of the Googlers. The mingle afterwards with Googlers was very helpful!"
Google Sandbox: Sofia | Search & Maps
The Google Sandbox: Sofia program gave participants a behind the scenes glimpse into Search Engine and the latest innovations in Google Maps for iOS. The program split into two tracks allowing participants to immerse themselves in the Google Innovation Lab focused on teamwork and design sprints, or the hands on technical TensorFlow workshop.
Attendee Quotes
"The networking and the Q&A with actual google engineers were the most valuable parts for me. Hearing things directly from them made me feel like I was getting inside info from the most credible sources :)”
"Amazing experience, I definitely learned a lot while also having fun! Thank you for the wonderful event!”
“I really appreciated hearing more about the speaker’s life and work at Google...meeting the people was the most valuable aspect of the event!”
Google Sandbox: Machine Learning Lab | New York
The Google Sandbox: Machine Learning Lab program allowed participants to dive into machine learning concepts and go through Google’s Machine Learning Crash Course with hands-on instructors. Participants applied machine learning concepts to data sets and worked in groups to demonstrate their learnings.
Attendee Quotes
"The networking and the Q&A with actual google engineers were the most valuable parts for me. Hearing things directly from them made me feel like I was getting inside info from the most credible sources :)”
"Amazing experience, I definitely learned a lot while also having fun! Thank you for the wonderful event!”
“I really appreciated hearing more about the speaker’s life and work at Google...meeting the people was the most valuable aspect of the event!”
Google Sandbox: Detroit | Hardware
The Google Sandbox: Detroit program shone a spotlight on Google’s work within the consumer hardware space. Participants watched tech talks focused on how Google’s hardware team researches, designs, and develops their products. During the networking reception, participants had the chance to chat with members of the hardware team and get hands-on with demos of the latest products.
Attendee Quotes
“Thank you for the opportunity to attend Google Sandbox Detroit! I have always loved Google; after attending the event, I am even more enthusiastic about the company. I really appreciated learning about Google's work environment and culture; it seems like the perfect company for me. The event gave me confidence that working for Google is actually an attainable goal.”
“The event was well organized from top to bottom. Having worked in the automotive industry for over 20 years, it was nice to be immersed into the google culture at least for one night. Thanks for the opportunity!”
“Thank you for coming to Detroit. I appreciate the resources and time Google spent to come to our city. All the Googlers were gracious with their time and sharing their experiences.”
“I enjoyed the friendliness and inclusion that all of the Google employees showed toward myself and others. It was a great atmosphere to be in.”
Google Sandbox: Denver | Google Cloud G Suite
The Google Sandbox: Denver program highlighted the teams that support G Suite — Google’s Gmail, Docs, Drive, and Calendar products for businesses. Through tech talks, panels, fireside chats, and workshops, participants got an inside look into the impact these products are having on the world’s businesses, as well as Google’s culture in the Boulder office.
Attendee Quotes
“I liked the gender, racial, cultural, etc diversity of the event. I'm a white guy, and I was outnumbered at the event, which is a rarity -- and a positive -- at tech events."
"I am truly excited to gain more exposure to the Google lifestyle and learn how I can be a critical asset to your team."
"It was a real pleasure to attend to the Google Sandbox event in Denver and an amazing opportunity to meet the recruiters in person. Thank you for putting this event together as it gave me the chance to get in direct contact with the recruitment team and understand what Google is looking for."
"I went in from interested to *extremely* interested: from the 20% projects, to learning what it takes to become useful and start contributing and making impact, this was a terrific event. And the Googlers were fun!"
"I met one person through the breakout sessions who I am hoping will become a mentor for me, and another person who I might potentially be able to mentor--so it was really wonderful!"
Google Sandbox: Baltimore | Google Cloud
The Google Sandbox Baltimore event brought together 21 Googlers and 107 attendees at The Assembly Room in downtown Baltimore for two evenings of tech talks, breakout sessions, mini fireside chats, and networking. Attendees were able to learn more about life at Google and take a deeper dive into teams across Tech Infrastructure including Security & Privacy, SRE, CorpEng, Data Centers and NetOps. The event took place in an old converted warehouse filled with lifesize games, Maryland inspired hors d'oeuvres and plenty of fun snaps at the Google photobooth.
Attendee Quotes
“The event gave a glimpse into the Google community and it is such a progressive, creative atmosphere that I can definitely understand why Google as a company is so successful.”
“I have always admired Google for being one of the Best/Top 1 - 8 places to work every year. However, interacting with actual Googlers encouraged me to put Google at the top of my bucket list for my next career transition. I have extensive technical skills in systems engineering and security, and I believe Google is a great environment for me to bring my passion. “
“I would do this again in a heartbeat, and recommend to anyone with even an inkling of interest in Google and what it's like for its engineers.”
“The Events team crafted a remarkable experience and all Googlers were engaging and full of radiant energy and good vibes. I really appreciate having that energy focused in Baltimore, if only for two days. ;-) I felt fully supported by a diverse and inclusive environment. And at the same time, I felt at ease to engage in dynamic conversations that are shaping the Infrastructure that we all love. So again, thank you! +1UP!”
“It was great to hear from the speakers on the projects they were working on and hearing from their mouths; their fulfilling experiences in working at Google and the autonomy in working in a dynamic environment that enables collaboration and innovation.”
Google Sandbox: Los Angeles | Global Marketing
The Google Sandbox Los Angeles | Global Marketing Event showcased life at Google and potential pathways in the Global Marketing Organization. The Los Angeles event featured interactive dicussions with makreting leaders, networking and breakout sessions, all while embracing both the Google and Los Angeles cultures.
Attendee Quotes
"As a woman of color who works in technology, I am often the only minority in the room. At Sandbox, this was different. It was so inspiring for me to be in a room of people who look like me and share the same experiences. I met a lot of cool people and had great conversations about marketing at Google and marketing at large. I think this program will have long-term impact, if not immediate, to encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply to and bring diverse goodness to Google."
“The event was seamless – every detail was carried out to perfection, from the well-timed sessions to the beautiful spread of food. For an event that catered to Marketers (who often create and manage events), this knocked it out of the park. Well done! “
“This event was truly one-of-a-kind and best in class. It was so unique to have such a wide array of marketing professionals in a room from all different backgrounds all of which were eager to learn about the Google ecosystem. The insight and intel about the company, the current campaigns, and what it takes to be a part of the team was invaluable. I wish more companies would do things like this and I think if possible Google should do them more! I would love to attend again and highly recommend to anyone in the industry whether they're looking for a new career or not as it truly reignited my passion for marketing again.”
Google Sandbox: Nashville | Search, Ads, YouTube & Infrastructure
Over the course of two evenings, attendees enjoyed an inspiring Googler panel, a tech talk on fighting abuse online, competed in Google Games, experienced a live musical performance from a local Nashville artist, and had a chance to network with Google and YouTube recruiters.
Attendee Quotes
“The one on one discussions with the Googlers provided insights into the company; that aided in my decision to pursue a career at Google.”“The panel discussion, and more so from the standpoint of understanding the caliber and mindset of Googlers..was very inspiring, and gave myself and several others I spoke with a strong sense that Google is the team to be a part of.”“The networking and google game workshop were both admirable and neat ways to talk further with folks in the Nashville tech communities that may not touch base often. Having that time together with Google was well worth it.”“Overall I thought the sandbox was a valuable event and I would definitely enjoy going to more Google events if they happen in Nashville.”“Thanks so much for coming to Nashville!! That was awesome!!”“Google Sandbox is unique and a great idea.”“Please do more of these.”
Google Sandbox: Phoenix | Site Reliability Engineering
The event featured two evenings of tech talks, mini fireside chats, a SRE technical workshop, and networking. Attendees were able to learn more about life at Google and take a deeper dive into technical teams across Google Cloud, Chrome or Google Search. On the last day, we offered a social hour, during which participants had the opportunity to network, engage with demo stations, take professional headshots and enjoy specialities from the local cuisine.
Attendee Quotes
“I'm looking for a company to call home, I believe Google should be that company. I want to join the Google Team.” “Thank you for taking the time to visit Phoenix! I would love to take part in future events if Google decides to send a team back to Arizona.”
Google Sandbox: San Diego | Geo, Ads, and Apps
On night one, participants heard from our LAX-based Customer Engineering Director on customer engagement strategy and process, along Google’s Ads Integrity initiatives to fight against malicious ads. Listeners also learned about Engineering Productivity and the important SETI (Software Engineering, Tools & Infrastructure) role at Google, particularly within Geo. Attendees were also to get technical with an in-depth Apps demo on gSuite collaboration tools.
Part two of the event, Google’s local San Diego office shared insight on its culture and achievements over a panel discussion, and later participants branched off into breakout sessions, including fireside chat roundtables, or the Geo Earth Engine workshop. Receptions throughout the event featured a local brewery offering educational pours, West Elm-sponsored lounges, and the opportunity for professional headshots and chats with Google recruiters.
Attendee Quotes
"It was very well organized and very smooth to follow the directions and talks. The timing for each section was perfect, not too long or not too short. Speakers were all excited and energetic and welcoming. Gifts were appreciated and exciting to have. Googlers were diverse and some of them.""I extremely enjoyed talking to and learned a lot from Googlers. The team put in a lot of thoughts to plan out the space and the event so well and I am glad I had a chance to participate. I would be extremely happy to keep coming back to more such events in the future and would appreciate any chance to come over and socialize with the Googlers.""It was an awesome well put together event and I will tell everyone about it!"
Google Sandbox: Toronto | Cloud, Sales, and Software Engineering
The evening started out with an opening from the Head of Corporate Sales, Google Cloud, to give insight into their journey to Google Cloud and the developments happening in the industry. We then heard from our Life @ Google panelists that discussed their experiences working in LCS and Google Cloud before finishing with a presentation on the 9 Principles of Innovation. After the content, the guests enjoyed a networking reception where they were able to mingle with Googlers, speakers, and recruiters.
Attendee Quotes
“I have always wondered what life at Google was like and now I know. I enjoy the culture of innovation and cooperation, and it's a good guide for other companies (and frankly, people in general).”“The manager in the panel had extremely well-thought answers and his drive to fulfill his team's career goals makes me envious of Googlers.”“All parts of the event were useful together. I especially liked the networking part at the end. I enjoyed meeting Googlers and others invited and listening to their questions.”“Strongest value has to go to being able to connect with both recruiters and people on the team I'm interested in. They were both able to give relevant advice that will be advantageous during an interview process.”