R&D Product Internship - Taste The Future Program UK

Mondelēz International; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 26,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discounted staff shop

Discounted on-site gym membership

Online GP services

Job summary

Mondelēz International in the UK is offering an R&D Product Internship as part of the Taste The Future program. You’ll work with experienced food scientists and product developers on chocolate products, learning the full product development lifecycle and collaborating with global stakeholders to drive innovation and quality.

Starting salary is £23,793 per year. The 12‑month fixed-term internship includes mentoring, ambitious goals, and opportunities to travel.

Qualifications

• Education: Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science, Engineering, or other scientific discipline with a predicted grade of 2:1.

Responsibilities

• Develops new and existing chocolate products for our brands, collaborating with cross-functional teams such as Marketing, Consumer Science & Insights, Procurement & Manufacturing, and Technical Experts.
• Hands-on product development experience from concept and design through to kitchen or pilot plant trials and scaling to factory trials.
• Understands ingredient functionality to identify opportunities for optimisation and sustainability using scientific methods and hypothesis-driven experiments.
• Create or update specifications, produce technical reports/presentations, and communicate findings to project stakeholders.

Skills

Communication skills

Analytical thinking

Presentation skills

Initiative

Adaptability

Team collaboration

Creativity

Education

Bachelor’s Degree (Food Science or Engineering)

Job description

Job Description

Are You Ready to Make It Happen at Mondelēz International?

Join our Mission to Lead the Future of Snacking. Make It Matter. As an organization we are committed to developing the next generation of Makers and Bakers. Joining us at an early career stage in our fast paced and ever changing environment will enable you to do more, learn more and grow more. You will be encouraged to step outside your comfort zone– you may even surprise yourself! We will ensure you are given the support you need to be at your best and enable you to be yourself and bring passion and personality. Here you can lean in and speak up and bring your own flavor.

Big enough to reach the top. Small enough to help you get off the ground.

Are you studying towards a Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Engineering, or other Scientific discipline (e.g., Chemistry, Biology, Biochemistry, Food & Nutrition, Physical Sciences, Materials Science, Physics)? Do you want a taste of the career you could have with Mondelez? Sink your teeth into one of our sweet internships.

Our R&D Internships - Taste The Future Program UK are 12 months long (although some roles have the flexibility to be shorter) and during your placement, we’ll make you an integral part of our team and give you a real job – with real responsibilities – from day one. We hope to help you expand your horizons and encourage your personal and professional development.

We want to make sure you get the most from your time with us. That’s why once you join, we’ll work out ambitious but achievable goals for you. Then through the support of a mentor and regular reviews with your manager, we’ll help you achieve them.

Life in Research & Development (R&D)

As an intern in R&D at Mondelēz International, you’ll take ownership of projects. You will contribute to the future of snacking by keeping the consumer at the heart of our innovation. Deliverables may include producing technical reports and presentations, sharing insights with stakeholders and fostering transparency and collaboration. You will have the opportunity to work with the broader RDQ community, business functions, and external suppliers, building your network and confidence. Beyond your primary project, you may support ongoing activities, gaining diverse experiences and contributing to a sustainable future. For some roles, occasional international travel may be required.

About the role

Research & Development Product Internship - Taste The Future Program UK

This internship offers a unique opportunity to gain hands‑on experience in the exciting world of food innovation. As an R&D Intern, you'll work alongside experienced food scientists and product developers, contributing to the creation and improvement of some of the world's most beloved snack brands. This is a chance to learn about the entire product development lifecycle and work with global and regional stakeholders to drive innovation, product quality, productivity and sustainability.

Key Responsibilities

• Develops new and existing chocolate products for our most loved brands. Works with other cross functional teams in the business e.g., Marketing, Consumer Science & Insights, Procurement & Manufacturing, Ingredient Research and Technical Experts to develop products that are loved by the consumer.
• Will get hands on product development experience, being involved from the concept and design phase, through to planning and leading kitchen or pilot plant trials, then scaling up to factory trials.
• Works to understand the functionality of ingredients and interactions in our products to identify opportunities for optimisation & sustainability. As part of this, you will apply scientific methods and technical rigour to solve complex research problems and bring a new perspective to solutions. You will interact greatly with peers across multiple teams, challenging your technical curiosity by conducting hypothesis, leading experiments and interpreting results to offer future chocolate recommendations.
• Other responsibilities will be to create or update specifications, produce technical reports/presentations, submitting samples for analysis, organising sample shipments, conducting shelf‑life tests and communicating your key findings to project stakeholders.

Teams

• CHOCOLATE GROWTH & INNOVATION: These teams work on all chocolate products for our European region across multiple brands, ranging from Easter eggs to chocolate bars. We work with cross functional teams to work on renovations and new product developments.
• CHOCOLATE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT: This team conducts mid/long term research projects that help us deliver chocolate growth opportunities and offer future recommendations for the business. Supporting across the platform you will gain technical knowledge into our chocolate mass recipes by conduct experiments to trial different formulations and interpret results. We work on consumer‑focused innovations that stretch beyond the core of our business, and support in product quality benchmarking work.
• PRODUCTIVITY: The work we do in the Productivity team looks at researching next generation technologies which look to deliver savings. We look at cost optimization and saving opportunities for ingredients, products and processes. We then generate pipelines and seek out opportunities to apply these solutions globally.

What we're looking for

• Education: Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science, Engineering, or other scientific discipline (e.g., Chemistry, Biology, Biochemistry, Food & Nutrition, Physical Sciences, Materials Science, Physics, Culinary) with a predicted grade of a 2:1 - (or equivalent).
• Communication skills: Demonstrates strong analytical, communication and presentation abilities.
• Technical Rigour: Able to apply scientific approach to new situations whilst maintaining a well thought out approach.
• Initiative: A pro‑active and highly motivated team player who thrives on new challenges, building relationships, and working autonomously.
• Agility: Able to manage multiple tasks, adapt quickly, and respond to feedback constructively.
• Collaborative Mindset: Comfortable working in diverse teams with project managers, marketers, scientists, engineers, and suppliers.
• Creativity & Curiosity: You love to explore, ideate, and challenge the norm. You’re not afraid to ask, “what if?”. You show eagerness to grow and learn and bring fresh ideas.

Additional Desirable Skills

• Passion/inquisitiveness about food, food trends, nutrition, wellbeing and food production.

What you’ll gain

• Hands‑on experience of the product development process in a leading global snacking company’s R&D team.
• Technical skills in food formulation, processing, and analysis.
• The opportunity to network with experienced scientists and engineers in the food industry in a diverse and multicultural environment.
• Contribute to the development of innovative and exciting new products.
• Additional benefits: Access to discounted staff shop, discounted on‑site gym membership and online GP services.
• Opportunity to experience and influence the diverse MDLZ culture by engaging in various voluntary activities and site initiatives to help the community and bring the MDLZ R&D community together.

Starting salary

£23,793

Visa & sponsorship

This position does not meet the minimum salary requirements for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. Therefore, we are unable to consider applicants who require sponsorship. Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK.

Closing date

Midday Monday 12 October 2026

Assessment Center

We will be holding our final stage assessment center for this role in person at our Bournville offices on Monday the 23th & Tuesday the 24th of November 2026. Reasonable travel expenses will be covered.

Diversity and inclusion statement

Mondelēz International is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Job Type

Intern (Fixed Term)

Category

Interns Early Careers

Internship experience quote

“No two days are the same in the R&D Global Productivity Team, but typically, you'll find yourself involved in one of two main focuses. The first involves rigorous research, applying technical expertise to solve problems, and producing detailed reports and presentations. You'll communicate key findings to stakeholders and collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams, such as Consumer Science and Process Technology. The other half focuses on putting research and ideas into practice through Proof of Principle trials in the Pilot Plant. You'll develop Design of Experiments, apply methodical reasoning, and work with the analytical team, to uncover any underlying insights. Overall, my internship provided me with a wider understanding of the FMCG industry. Through experiences like job shadowing in Project Management and being involved in a First Production Approval in manufacturing, I broadened my awareness of the food industry and business acumen. These opportunities provided valuable insights into the end‑to‑end processes within the FMCG sector For more details on our Early Careers schemes and advice on our application process, visit our careers site today - Early Careers - UK | Mondelēz International, Inc. (mondelezinternational.com) We celebrate diversity, so if you require any adjustment to take part in our hiring process, let us know and we will work with you to help remove barriers and make the process accessible. You never have to disclose more than you're comfortable with - just tell us what you need. Please see the details on our dedicated D&I careers page. Our candidate requirements are based on criteria to enable you to succeed in the role. If you have narrowly missed the above requirements and there are extenuating circumstances that you would like us to consider, you can let us know by contacting [e-mail] stating “UK&I Early Careers” as the subject and attaching a letter from your school/university to confirm your extenuating circumstances.