Research & Development Product Internship/Placement Year 2026 - 2027

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 internships 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. In some cases, occasional international travel may be required.

About the role: 

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.

The work we do in the Productivity team looks at researching next generation technologies which look to deliver savings and can include new ingredients as well as processes. We look at cost optimization and saving opportunities for products and processes across all the three Mondelez product categories. We then generate pipelines and seek out opportunities to apply these solutions globally.

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. 

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) 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:

It’s the people that makes Mondelez a great place to work and there is a comprehensive onboarding and training plan with buddies on hand to fully support your time with us.

• 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.

Starting salary: £23,000

Closing date for applications is midday Saturday 28 February 2026.

We will be holding our final stage assessment center for this role in-person at our Bournville offices. Reasonable travel expenses will be covered.

A word from one of our 24-25 interns:

"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)

Mondelēz is a diverse and inclusive employer with an objective to ensure a fair and equal hiring process. If you require any reasonable adjustments to apply or throughout our assessment process please contact earlycareersenquiries@mdlz.com stating “UK&I Early Careers” as the subject.

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 earlycareersenquiries@mdlz.com stating “UK&I  Early Careers” as the subject and attaching a letter from your school/university to confirm your extenuating circumstances.