Microbial Manufacturing Internships

Interested in a career that matters?

Summer Internships in Microbial Manufacturing – Salem VA

Summer Internship Program Overview

Novonesis’ Summer Internship Program provides a wide range of opportunities for current college students. We pride ourselves on offering real-world projects and providing interns with multiple networking opportunities to help you learn and grow both personally and professionally. Our openings encompass the entire process that we utilize to discover, develop, and produce a microbial product for our customers.  You will work intimately within one of the following departments:

• Microbial Development and Optimization
• Manufacturing Maintenance & Reliability
• Fermentation Manufacturing
• Finished Goods Formulations & Packaging
• Production Process Engineering
• Facilities Project Management
• Capital Project Execution
• Quality Control Laboratory
• Manufacturing Quality Assurance
• Occupational Health & Safety

Even though the internship will focus on one of these departments, our program participants get exposure, training, and networking opportunities with all these groups to better prepare them for a career in the biotechnology industry! We believe this variety differentiates our internship program.

About the Role

In this position, you will be given a project that is feasible for completion in the program timeline and be mentored by an experienced colleague.  Projects include experience in the following areas: product and process development, large-scale liquid fermentation, biological systems engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, HVAC, building trades, maintenance technology, electrical engineering, microbiology, biochemistry, chemistry, quality control, safety, and quality operations.  For example, past internship projects included re-designing manufacturing equipment, developing new laboratory assays for production strains, and updating facility blueprints.  All these projects support our customers worldwide!

Our network of intern alumni grows every year, and we will connect the 2027 cohort of interns into that network to help facilitate their career growth.  Here is a comment written from a 2026 alum:

*“Coming into this role, I was excited to gain real-world engineering experience, but I'm leaving with so much more than just technical skills. I had the opportunity to work on meaningful projects, contribute to process improvements, strengthen my problem-solving abilities, and collaborate with an incredible team that was always willing to answer questions and help me grow.”*

Required Qualifications and Competencies

• Be enrolled in a Certificate, AS, or BS degree program focusing on Building Trades, Mechatronics, Computer Science, Chemical/Biological Engineering, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Civil/Environmental Engineering, or Agriculture related concentrations.
• Have a minimum 3.0 GPA (Include GPA on resumé).
• Have previous experience or a strong interest in working in a laboratory or manufacturing setting.
• Be able to arrange their own housing & transportation needs near Salem, VA.

To be considered for an internship, submit your application and resumé by December 04, 2026. Candidates selected for interviews will hear back from Novonesis by February 2027 regarding their status in our hiring process.

Ways of Working / Working Conditions

• Full-time internship assignment lasting approximately 10 weeks
• Located on-site in Salem, VA
• Use of required personal protective equipment (PPE) when in the laboratory and production

Compensation

Expected salary: $23/hr

Relevant Information

Program Dates: May 24th, 2027, to July 30th, 2027

Position Type: Temporary position payrolled through a third-party provider Application Deadline: December 04, 2026

Our purpose guides the way

In Novonesis, we know that solutions rooted in biology can help solve humanity’s biggest challenges. Since we began more than a century ago, this has been our guide. It’s how we've gotten so far. And it’s how we'll impact the future. Now, more than ever, the world needs change. And with biosolutions, the possibilities for transformation are endless. If our purpose resonates with you, we encourage you to apply.

Opportunities for everyone

We are committed to an inclusive recruitment process and equal opportunity for all applicants. Therefore we ask you to apply without a cover letter or photo and instead include a few sentences in your CV explaining your motivation for applying.

We make all employment decisions based on business needs and welcome candidates with a wide range of backgrounds, including ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, or veteran status.

Explore other openings

If this position isn’t the right fit, you may still find other opportunities with us. You’re welcome to explore open roles or create a job agent to stay connected with future opportunities at novonesis.com/Career (http://novonesis.com/Career)