Intern - R&D

Hilmar Cheese Company; Hilmar (CA); On-site; USD 37,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid internship

Professional development

Potential full-time opportunity

Dairy visits

Job summary

Hilmar Cheese Company offers a 10-week paid internship at our Hilmar, CA site, focusing on dairy science and product development. You’ll work on real projects, gain hands-on experience, and interact with senior leaders.

This role provides a collaborative environment with opportunities to contribute to commercial processes and product quality. You will develop technical skills, learn dairy manufacturing concepts, and explore new technology options while supporting ongoing R&D and production

Qualifications

• Completion of Sophomore year and pursuit of a degree in Food Science, Chemical Engineering, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry or related field.
• Strong applied technical and analytical problem-solving skills.
• Good oral and written communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Participate in team projects improving commercial processes and product quality.
• Understand cheese science and explore new technology options.
• Investigate microbiology of cheese making at molecular level.
• Develop analytical methods to evaluate dairy ingredient quality.
• Assist in setting up laboratory or production experiments.

Skills

MS Office (Outlook)

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Problem solving

Education

Sophomore year completed in relevant field

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

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At Hilmar Cheese Company we improve lives around the world through wholesome dairy products. Since our founding in 1984, Hilmar Cheese Company has been committed to innovation and sustainability. Our state-of-the art production facilities convert an abundance of locally sourced high-quality milk into a variety of nutritious cheeses, whey protein and lactose. The Cheese and Ingredients that we produce create a wide variety of retail and food service products from sliced and shredded cheeses, to protein supplements and infant formula. We are a trusted partner to premier food and beverage brands in more than fifty countries helping bring their vision into reality.

Throughout our decades of success and growth we have remained committed to our mission and values and these principles unite our people and guide all that we do.

A Typical Day

At Hilmar Cheese Company we offer a 10-week paid, skill-enriching, innovation-generating summer advantage. Our interns innovate, collaborate and deliver. We’re counting on our interns to bring fresh ideas and own exciting projects in the works.

As an intern at our Hilmar, CA site, you’ll be exposed to real life business situations and will work on projects alongside our employees. Your summer with Hilmar Cheese will include dairy visits, community projects, and even a chance to pick the brain of our senior leaders. You’ll have the opportunity to gain insight on how we create wholesome dairy products, systems and services that improve lives around the world.

Benefits of a Hilmar Cheese Company Internship

• Gain professional work experience in an area related to your degree.
• Work in a positive, well-balanced environment.
• Learn about the industry from all levels of management.
• Potential opportunity, upon graduation, for full-time employment with a successful, fast-growing company!

Job Responsibilities

• Participate in team projects that contribute to the improvement of the company’s commercial processes and product quality.
• Understanding the science behind cheese making and exploring new technology options
• Investigating the microbiology of cheese making at the cell and molecular level
• Developing analytical methods to evaluate dairy ingredient quality and functionality
• Characterizing/evaluating a current commercial process or new processes R&D group is developing
• Assisting in the set-up of laboratory or production experiments.
• Scale-up and production of products for use as sales prototypes
• Investigation of alternative ingredients with whey protein substitution
• Characterization of new ingredients (Functionality testing)

What You Will Need

• Completion of Sophomore year at a university and working towards a degree in Food Science, Chemical Engineering, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry or related field.
• Basic knowledge of MS Office products: Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel
• Strong applied technical skills and analytical problem-solving skills
• Good oral and written communication skills
• Reliable transportation to and from work

Physical Demands & Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required to:

• Stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle or feel and reach with hands and arms, climb or balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl and talk or hear.
• Stand and walk almost the entire workday.
• Employees must be physically capable of working in any of the job tasks within their respective area.
• Required to work at heights and in fairly small areas.
• Pushing, pulling, reaching, bending, stooping, squatting, kneeling, handling and grasping, twisting/turning, repetitive bending.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently exposed to the following:

• Exposure to dust, fumes, smoke, gases, or other irritating substances.
• Exposure to solvents or chemicals.
• Exposure to slippery walking surfaces: water.
• Exposure to marked changes in temperature and humidity depending on time of year.

Working surface is primarily concrete. Where standing is required, there are rubber mats which are one-half inch thick.

Food safety is a companywide responsibility and each employee must know their role in the manufacture and distribution of safe, wholesome, and high quality products.

Hilmar Cheese Company, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer/EEO. We participate in E-Verify.