INTERNSHIP DETAILS

Sustainability Engineer Intern

CompanyAjinomoto Foods North America
LocationSan Diego
Work ModeOn Site
PostedApril 10, 2026
Internship Information
Core Responsibilities
The Sustainability Engineering Intern will drive measurable reductions in waste, energy, and water usage while optimizing production performance. They will lead continuous improvement projects, manage capital initiatives, and support sustainability reporting across the organization.
Internship Type
unavailable
Company Size
881
Visa Sponsorship
No
Language
English
Working Hours
40 hours
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About The Company
As a leading manufacturer in the frozen food industry, we create delicious, high-quality frozen foods that make it easy for families across North America to live healthy, balanced lives. With a commitment to excellence and innovation, all our products are cooked with our customers in mind, providing healthy and delicious meals for all. We currently operate nine factories and one main office domestically in the United States. With over 2,800 employees working around the clock, we serve as a brand leader across all categories of frozen foods. Our products span across the largest categories of ethnic frozen foods ranging from Mexican to Italian to Asian across every distribution channel including foodservice, grocery, warehouse club, and custom manufacturing. From incredible Umami sauces to delicious Umami seasoning, you can count on quality with every Umami product.
About the Role
Position Summary

The Sustainability Engineering Intern will be responsible for improving production performance and sustainability outcomes and supporting sustainability reporting across the organization.   This goal of this role will be to drive measurable reductions in scrap, waste, and utilities usage by applying structured problem-solving and working to optimize reporting and dashboarding to help communicate results. 


Position Essential Duties and Responsibilities

    • Partner with sites to develop and implement process improvements to reduce scrap and improve yield performance.
    • Monitor production data to identify root causes of scrap, overfill, giveaway, or rework.
    • Lead root cause analysis and corrective action initiatives related to process inefficiencies and product loss.
    • Support troubleshooting of process-related quality or yield issues.
    • Develop SOPs and work instructions to sustain improvements.
    • Lead continuous improvement projects focused on yield, efficiency, and cost reduction.
    • Use structured problem solving tools (5-Why, Fishbone, DMAIC, and RCA) to eliminate chronic & sporadic losses.
    • Lead plant-level sustainability reduction initiatives focused on trash, energy, water, and utilities consumption.
    • Track, analyze, and report utilities usage (electricity, gas, water, compressed air, refrigeration, etc.) and identify reduction opportunities.
    • Develop and implement action plans to reduce landfill waste and improve recycling performance.
    • Partner with Engineering, EHS, Maintenance, and Operations to drive measurable reductions in energy intensity (per lb produced).
    • Support utilities performance reporting and ensure accuracy of sustainability metrics.
    • Help to develop and improve dashboarding and reporting for sustainability reducing manual workload for the sites and improving visibility.
    • Monitor and report financial impact of sustainability improvements and capital projects.
    • Support compliance with environmental regulations and corporate sustainability commitments.
    • Manage small capital projects or initiatives related to scrap, process, utilities, or waste reduction improvements.


Position Qualifications

  • Senior Level student or recent grad.
  • Major in Engineering or Sustainability with classwork and interest in process engineering, process improvements, and sustainability.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
  • Knowledge of regulatory compliance standards and quality control procedures.
  • Must have solid working knowledge in food production processing, packaging equipment, utilities.
  • Must have project management skills, be detailed oriented, and be able to prioritize and manage multiple simultaneous projects.
  • Must have sound planning and organization skills.
  • Knowledge of standard MS Office tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Project)
  • Must have sound planning and organization skills.
  • Range of pay: $26.00 - $32.00 per hour.
Key Skills
Process EngineeringSustainability ReportingRoot Cause AnalysisContinuous ImprovementData AnalysisProject ManagementDashboardingRegulatory ComplianceFood ProductionPackaging EquipmentWaste ReductionEnergy ManagementProblem SolvingCommunicationMS OfficeDMAIC
Categories
Environmental & SustainabilityEngineeringManufacturingFood & Beverage