R&D Industrial Placement: Lead Pilot-Scale Food Tech

PepsiCo; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Vibrant culture

Development and mentoring

25 days annual leave + 8 bank holidays

Discounted PepsiCo products

Competitive pension scheme

Health & wellbeing benefits

Job summary

PepsiCo is seeking enthusiastic undergraduates to join its 12-month R&D placement programme in the Compression Popping and Extrusion team. You will lead experiments, manage projects and budgets, and work with global teams to explore new technologies that shape future products.

The role emphasises hands-on testing, data analysis, and knowledge transfer across PepsiCo’s production lines, with a salary of £26,600 and a July 2027 start date.

Qualifications

• Degree-level qualification in Mechanical or Chemical Engineering or related disciplines.
• Penultimate-year student with option for sandwich placement before returning to study.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with ability to present to non-technical audiences.
• Strong digital skills including Python and Modelling & Simulation tools.
• Solid understanding of fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, rheology, heat and mass transfer; statistics.
• Strong analytical skills to interpret data and derive insights.
• High self-motivation and good organisational skills.
• Initiative and drive to deliver trial results.

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute own experimental studies at bench and pilot scale to build insights for new technologies.
• Own and manage project activity, budget and stakeholder connections.
• Maintain an organised pilot plant environment during peak activity and coordinate with the pilot plant team for materials and services.
• Participate in safety and risk assessment aspects of projects.
• Analyse data from existing operations to understand performance and potential improvements.
• Support plant testing of new technology developments and evaluation of performance.
• Support knowledge capture and transfer of best practice across global production lines.

Skills

Communication

Python

Modelling & Simulation

Data analysis

Project management

Self-motivation

Multi-tasking

Oral/written presentation

Education

Mechanical or Chemical Engineering (degree)

Penultimate-year sandwich placement

Tools

None

Job description

PepsiCo is seeking enthusiastic undergraduates to join its 12-month R&D placement programme in the Compression Popping and Extrusion team. You will lead experiments, manage projects and budgets, and work with global teams to explore new technologies that shape future products.

The role emphasises hands-on testing, data analysis, and knowledge transfer across PepsiCo’s production lines, with a salary of £26,600 and a July 2027 start date.