Future Opportunities Materials Characterization Intern R&D (Summer 2027)

Materials Characterization Intern R&D (Summer 2027) 

Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States 

Location: Hershey, PA 

Duration:  May 2027 – August 2027 

R&D Materials Characterization Intern  

Overview 
Residing at The Hershey Company's Technical Center, this position offers a unique opportunity to work within the R&D Materials Characterization team. The team supports innovation, product development, process improvement, and troubleshooting by applying analytical and characterization techniques to understand ingredient, product, and process behavior. 

The Materials Characterization Intern will work independently and as part of multidisciplinary project teams to generate insights that help drive better products and processes. The successful candidate will interact with scientists, product developers, engineers, sensory scientists and management while supporting technical projects across confectionery, snacks, and ingredients. 

This role will provide hands-on experience using analytical and characterization tools to investigate product structure, texture, rheology, thermal properties, moisture interactions, and ingredient functionality. 

Potential Duties/Responsibilities: 
Project responsibilities include conducting laboratory experiments, operating characterization instruments, analyzing data, and communicating results. Daily activities may include sample preparation, method execution, data interpretation, and collaboration with project teams. 

· Develop, optimize and validate characterization methods for ingredients, finished products and process improvements. 

· Design and execute experiments to improve measurement repeatability and accuracy, analyze data and provide conclusions using appropriate statistical tools as needed. 

· Generate standard operating procedures (SOPs), test protocols and best practices for newly developed methods. 

· Collaborate with cross-functional partners including Product Development, Engineering, Manufacturing, CI, and Sensory teams. 

· Prepare technical reports, presentations, and recommendations for scientists and project teams. 

· Analyze and interpret experimental data to generate actionable technical insights. 

· Utilize data analytics and AI-enabled tools to support data interpretation and knowledge discovery. 

· Participate in laboratory safety, equipment maintenance, and continuous improvement activities. 

Qualifications: 

 
Education 

Majors: Food Science, Material Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or related science/engineering disciplines. 

· Pursuing at minimum an undergraduate Bachelor's degree, preferably junior or senior. 

· Minimum GPA: 3.0 

Experience 

· Previous research, laboratory, analytical, or engineering internship experience is highly valued. 

· Experience with scientific data analysis or laboratory instrumentation is preferred. 

Minimum Knowledge/ skills/ abilities required to successfully perform major duties/responsibilities:  

· Strong interest in scientific research and analytical problem solving. 

· Highly motivated and curious with a desire to learn new technologies. 

· Comfortable working in laboratory environments. 

· Proficient in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. 

· Strong written and verbal communication skills. 

· Ability to work independently and in a collaborative team environment. 

· Demonstrated troubleshooting and critical-thinking capabilities. 

· Experience with statistical analysis or data visualization tools is desirable. 

· Attention to detail and strong organizational skills. 

Things the prospective candidate should know:  

The prospective candidate will be responsible for identifying a reliable source of transportation during the internship, preferably a car. 

· The candidate may handle food ingredients and allergens including dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, eggs, and other food ingredients while wearing appropriate PPE. 

· The internship will involve hands-on laboratory work and operation of advanced scientific instrumentation. 

· The candidate will have exposure to a broad range of characterization technologies supporting product innovation and commercialization efforts across The Hershey Company. 

Why This Internship is Unique  

Interns will gain experience using advanced characterization technologies such as rheology, texture analysis, microscopy, thermal analysis, powder characterization, moisture sorption analysis, imaging, and spectroscopy while working directly on real business and R&D challenges. This provides a rare opportunity to connect scientific measurements to product quality, process optimization, and consumer experience