R&D Intern – Process Technology

Location: Wageningen, Netherlands

Hybrid: 3–4 days per week in the office

Start date: September 2026

Duration: 6 months

About the role

We are looking for a curious, hands-on, and driven R&D Intern to join our Process Technology team in Wageningen and support the qualification of a new pilot-scale pre-emulsion system designed to replicate industrial production processes.

In this role, you will work on a high-impact process engineering project focused on understanding the relationship between processing conditions and emulsion quality. The pilot system integrates ingredient mixing, heating/cooling, and real-time process monitoring, allowing flexible experimentation at batch scale.

You will gain hands-on experience in both the pilot plant and laboratory environment, where you will independently conduct pilot plant trials, design and execute experiments, perform analytical measurements, and analyse process-product relationships. You will work closely with experienced process engineers and collaborate with product development teams, lab technicians, pilot plant technicians, and occasionally factory teams.

A key part of the internship will involve developing a reliable scale-down strategy from industrial high-shear mixing to pilot scale and benchmarking pilot emulsions against factory references. You will also contribute to the development of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and present your findings and recommendations to the team at the end of the internship. You will take part in the intern challenge, collaborating with other interns on a shared project during your internship.

Join us in shaping the future of food process technology and emulsion innovation!

So, what does it take to be successful in this role?

• You are currently pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Technology, Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, or a similar field at a Dutch or European university.
• You are enrolled as a student for the full duration of the internship.
• You are comfortable working hands-on in both pilot plant and laboratory environments.
• You have an investigative mindset and enjoy designing experiments, analysing data, and solving technical challenges.
• You are resilient, proactive, and able to work independently.
• You are comfortable with experimental work, analytical testing, and interpreting technical results.
• You have strong communication and collaboration skills and enjoy working in a multicultural team environment.
• It is a plus if you have previous internship experience in the food industry or prior exposure to emulsions, rheology, mixing technologies, or process engineering concepts.

What’s next?

If this position sounds interesting, please hit the apply button now. The deadline to apply is 5th of June 2026.