Research & Development Intern (Summer 2027)

fairlife
Chicago, IL

Who this role is best for

Candidates with a strong technical foundation in food science or related fields and a proactive mindset will find this R&D role in Chicago, IL, a great opportunity for hands-on product development experience.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with a senior year status in food science or chemical engineering programs
    — “Must be currently enrolled in a four-year undergraduate degree program, entering the Fall semester, post internship, as a senior.”
  • Individuals with a strong GPA and ability to take initiative in project ownership
    — “Cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0, or higher Ability to take ownership of assignments and complete them”
  • Those comfortable with data analysis and maintaining detailed project records
    — “Enter and analyze data Create and maintain comprehensive records of the project”

Things to consider

  • The internship requires on-site presence in Chicago, IL, with some travel to other plant locations.
    — “On-site, Monday-Friday travel requirements: 5-10% travel to plant locations”
  • The role involves handling sensitive R&D information and maintaining strict confidentiality.
    — “Maintain security and confidentiality of information within the R&D Department”

How to stand out

  • Emphasize experience with product testing, formulation, or ingredient evaluation in your resume and interview.
    — “Support a project to either develop new products, optimize an existing product formula, or evaluate ingredient functionality in a product”
  • Highlight your ability to work in a team and communicate effectively in both written and verbal formats.
    — “Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to work in a team setting”
  • Showcase any prior experience with lab safety protocols or data analysis tools in your application materials.
    — “Comply with lab safety protocols Enter and analyze data”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · LowDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • support R&D initiatives
  • product testing and evaluations
  • compliance with lab safety protocols
Typical background
four-year undergraduate degree programB.S. in Food Science, Dairy Science, Chemical Engineering or Food process engineering

Skills & requirements

Required

Food ScienceDairy ScienceChemical EngineeringFood Process EngineeringProduct DevelopmentData AnalysisLab Safety ProtocolsTeamwork

Preferred

Dairy Knowledge

Stack & domain

Microsoft Office SuiteMS WordExcelPowerpointFood ScienceDairy ScienceChemical EngineeringFood Process EngineeringStrong Verbal And Written Communication SkillsTeamworkLeadershipProblem-solvingAttention To DetailNutritionDairy

About the role

Original posting from fairlife via Greenhouse

fairlife, LLC is a Chicago-based nutrition company that creates great-tasting, nutrition-rich and dairy products to nourish consumers.

With over $3B in annual retail sales, fairlife’s portfolio of delicious, lactose-free, real dairy products includes: fairlife® ultra-filtered milk; Core Power® High Protein Shakes, a sports nutrition drink to support post-workout recovery; fairlife® nutrition plan™, a nutrition shake to support the journey to better health.

A wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola company, fairlife, LLC has been recognized by both Fast Company and Nielsen for its industry leading innovation.

To learn more about fairlife and its complete line of products, please visit fairlife.com.

about our internship program:

The fairlife Summer Internship Program is designed to welcome interns across our locations to gain meaningful experience and social and professional development opportunities. For 11 weeks, interns will work in one of our four locations: Chicago, IL; Coopersville, MI; Goodyear, AZ; or Webster, NY. fairlife’s paid internship program also offers a summer full of social, professional, and community engagement events including exposure to our senior leadership and executives across the business in small group settings, insight into company initiatives, off-site field trips, and for those qualified and selected, an opportunity to pursue a full-time job opportunity.

The fairlife 2027 Summer Internship Program will take place from May 24 through August 10 at the fairlife location specified in this job description.

job purpose: This internship experience provides an opportunity to work directly with the Research and Development (R&D) team, in Chicago, IL. This role will be focused on supporting R&D initiatives in alignment with company objectives.

skills/qualifications required:

Must be currently enrolled in a four-year undergraduate degree program, entering the Fall semester, post internship, as a senior.

B.S. Food Science, Dairy Science, Chemical Engineering or Food process engineering or closely related field.

Possess a strong technical foundation in the sciences; dairy knowledge desired but not required

Cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0, or higher

Ability to take ownership of assignments and complete them

Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to work in a team setting

Skilled in Microsoft Office Suite including MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Proficiency in English: Comfortable with both written and verbal communication, including reading and writing. 

learning objectives:

The intern will handle a responsibilities in the following areas:

Product development:

Support a project to either develop new products, optimize an existing product formula, or evaluate ingredient functionality in a product with the objective of enhancing the organoleptic properties or optimizing cost while maintaining the high quality of our products.

Exposure to different aspects of product development from formulation, and pilot plant production through commercialization. This will include ingredient selection, ingredients testing, raw batch testing and final product testing.

In all areas the intern is expected to:

Ask questions and learn quickly on the job

Conduct product testing and evaluations according to project objectives

Comply with lab safety protocols

Enter and analyze data

Create and maintain comprehensive records of the project

Maintain security and confidentiality of information within the R&D Department

food safety requirements:

Notify supervision of any repairs or adjustments that are required that may affect product quality or food safety.

Understand, observe, and comply with the handling and usage of the color-coded container policy while in the Production Areas.

Perform all duties necessary to meet Company, Customer and/or Government requirements/standards as prioritized by the Company.

Ability to initiate action to prevent the occurrence of nonconformities relating to Food Safety and the Quality of the product, processes, quality system, or safety system.

Identify and record any problems relating to Food Safety and the Quality of the ingredients, processes, quality system, or safety system.

Control further processing or delivery of nonconforming product in terms of Food Safety and Quality issues until the deficiency or unsatisfactory condition has been corrected.

In the event of absence, another employee with the same skill level will assume the duties and responsibilities as required.

internship location: Chicago, IL

schedule: On-site, Monday-Friday 

internship duration: May 24-August 10, 2027

reports to: R&D lead

travel requirements: 5-10% travel to plant locations

*Base pay offered may vary depending on geography, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position, is offered.

Base pay range:$28—$28 USDfairlife, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. All qualified applicants and employees will be given equal opportunity. Selection decisions are based on job-related factors.

In addition to its nondiscrimination commitment, the Company will also provide reasonable accommodation of qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the Company. If you have a disability and would like to request accommodation in order to apply for a position with us, please email careers@fairlife.com.

For Recruitment Agencies

At fairlife, we manage the majority of our hiring internally through our dedicated Talent Acquisition team, which is actively engaged in direct candidate sourcing. Most of our roles are filled through applications submitted via our careers site or through direct outreach by our team.

As our recruitment is primarily handled in-house, we work only occasionally with external agencies, and only those on our existing, pre-approved vendor list. At this time, we are not reviewing or expanding that list.

Unsolicited resumes or submissions from external agencies not authorized by our Talent Acquisition team will be considered direct candidate applications. As such, fairlife will not assume responsibility for any placement fees associated with these submissions.

Source: fairlife careers (Greenhouse)

Similar roles

More roles at fairlife