Ingredient Chemistry Research and Development Intern

Description

Cargill: Nourishing the World

Cargill is a global leader in food, agriculture, and industrial products, committed to nourishing the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. With a family company spirit, Cargill connects farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and families with daily essentials, touching billions of lives every day.

Ingredient Chemistry Research and Development Internship

This internship provides students with a background in food chemistry the opportunity to apply their academic knowledge to a real-world business setting. The program focuses on providing students with practical experience working alongside Cargill business units to develop solutions for customers.

Your Work:

• Global Core R&D Team: You will be part of the Ingredient Chemistry team within the Research and Development function. This team focuses on areas like:
• Ingredient Chemistry
• Material Science
• Chemical Characterization
• Nutrition
• Biology
• Fermentation
• Food Safety Research
• Projects: You will be assigned to one or multiple projects with a focus on developing novel chemical and material characterization methods, processing techniques, and product analyses. These projects may involve:
• New ingredient or process method development
• Building tools to better understand Cargill products and processes
• Applying scientific principles to build knowledge about food ingredients for use in finished food systems
• Using analytical chemistry and food material science to characterize functionality of food ingredients at the molecular level

Internship Experience:

• Hands-on work: Gain immediate practical experience in one of the world’s largest agribusiness companies.
• Development opportunities: Participate in orientation, networking, mentoring, and other events focused on personal and professional growth.
• Feedback: Receive regular feedback on your job performance.
• Community involvement: Engage in company and community events.
• Networking: Build connections with colleagues and management at different levels.
• Presentation: Share a summary of your learnings and experiences at the end of the internship.

Locations: This internship is based in Plymouth, MN.

Requirements:

• Right to work in the U.S. (not based on a student visa or third-party sponsored visa)
• Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree (graduating between December 2025 and Summer 2027), a Master’s or Doctorate degree (graduating after December 2025) in Food Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical science degree.
• Availability for a 12-week internship during the summer (May/June – August 2025)
• Geographic flexibility and willingness to relocate to Plymouth, MN.
• Proven ability to work effectively in diverse teams.
• High initiative and resourcefulness in completing tasks.
• Demonstrated interest in wet chemistry and analytical methods.
• Experimental research experience with food ingredients (fats, proteins, or starches) to understand their functionality.

Preferred Currently pursuings:

• Overall 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale)
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
• Leadership and technical skills.
• Effective collaboration, communication, and teamwork skills.
• Experience in food ingredient development, ingredient functionality evaluation, and comparison.
• Method development experience.
• Knowledge of formulation science and design of experiments approaches relevant to food matrix systems.