BAREILLY: Sanket Kumar, 23, who missed the JEE Advanced cutoff by just two marks in 2021, has been appointed as a scientist-engineer (SC Grade) at the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu.
A resident of Meerut, Sanket took a gap year and studied without formal coaching, relying solely on YouTube tutorials and previous years' question papers. He reappeared for the exams in 2022 and successfully cleared both JEE Main and JEE Advanced, securing admission to the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) in Thiruvananthapuram. There, he pursued aerospace engineering, one of India's most competitive undergraduate programs and a primary pipeline for ISRO recruitment.
At IIST, while most of his 160 classmates chose propulsion or aerodynamics, Sanket opted for vibration and acoustics—a niche field that examines how vibrations travel through structures and affect system performance. 'I was the only student in my batch to select vibration and acoustics. That unconventional decision paid off during the ISRO Centralised Recruitment Board (ICRB) interview,' Sanket told TOI.
His 8.2 CGPA at IIST made him eligible for a direct ICRB interview, bypassing the written examination. He appeared before multiple interview panels during the selection process before receiving the appointment offer based on his provisional degree, he said.
Before securing the position, he gained research experience through a paid internship at Taranga Vibroacoustics in 2025. Earlier this year, he was selected by Synra Inc for a final-year research project in Japan, where he spent three months working on advanced engineering systems.
IPRC Mahendragiri, where Sanket will be posted, is the facility where rocket systems undergo final testing before launch. 'Every rocket that lifts off from Sriharikota is first rigorously tested at Mahendragiri,' Sanket said.
