Food Science Research and Development Internship

Description

Cargill: Nourishing the World

Cargill is a global leader in food, agriculture, and industrial products, with a purpose to nourish the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. As a family company, they operate in 70 countries with 160,000 colleagues, connecting farmers to markets and customers to essential ingredients.

Food Science Research and Development Internship

This internship offers students with a food-related academic background the opportunity to apply classroom knowledge to a business environment. The program aims to provide students with practical experience and the chance to contribute to Cargill’s efforts in providing solutions to customers.

Potential Internship Areas:

• Food R/D Team: Develop new and innovative formulations for bakery, snack, dairy, and beverage applications for customers and tradeshows.
• Global Core R/D Team: Conduct research in areas such as ingredient chemistry, material science, chemical characterization, nutrition, biology, fermentation, and food safety. Develop novel characterization methods, processing techniques, and product analyses for both long-term scientific investigations and short-term business-driven product development.

Internship Activities:

• Project Assignments: Contribute to substantive projects in research or applications areas.
• Networking: Participate in company events, community outreach, and mentoring relationships for personal and professional development.
• Feedback: Receive regular and candid feedback on job performance.

Project Focus:

• Research Projects: Apply scientific principles to build knowledge about food ingredients and their use in finished food systems. This knowledge is used to support development of new Cargill ingredients or customers’ products. Interns will work on projects involving analytical chemistry and food material science to characterize ingredient functionality at the molecular level.
• Applications Projects: Conduct lab or pilot work on customer finished food systems. This work focuses on meeting customer needs and supporting the development of new Cargill ingredients or products.

Additional Benefits:

• Learning Resources: Access to comprehensive learning resources for professional development.
• Paid Time Off: Paid time off for volunteer activities.
• Community Outreach: Opportunities to participate in volunteer and community outreach events.
• Networking Events: Attend events for leadership development, networking with cross-functional interns, and professional growth.

Compensation and Duration:

• hourly Rate: $24.00 – $29.00 per hour, based on grad date and full-time employment eligibility.
• Duration: 12 weeks, typically during the summer (May/June – August).

Required Currently pursuings:

• Right to work in the U.S.
• Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree (graduation between December 2025 and Summer 2027) or a Master’s or Doctorate degree (graduation after December 2025) in Food Science, Microbiology, or a related technical science degree.
• Ability to complete a 12-week internship in the summer of 2025.
• Geographical flexibility and willingness to relocate to Plymouth, MN or Wichita, KS.
• Proven ability to work with diverse individuals.
• High degree of initiative and resourcefulness.

Preferred Currently pursuings:

• GPA of 3.0 or higher.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
• Leadership and technical skills.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and teamwork skills.