Polymers Materials Science Intern

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Segment, Business Unit or Corporate Group

This position will be part of the Corporate Technology Center (CTC) Process Design Group.

Work Location

This position is located in Fremont, CA (6900 Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont, CA 94555).

Job Overview

Support R&D of polymer materials and processing technologies, including extrusion, compounding, and foaming.

Conduct experiments to understand material-process-property relationships and improve materials and manufacturing processes.

Apply DOE, statistics, and data analysis to optimize processes and interpret results.

Use JMP, Python, and AI tools to analyze data and support engineering decisions.Collaborate with engineers and scientists, document work, and communicate findings.

Responsibilities

• Conduct polymer processing experiments focused on extrusion, compounding, foaming, and process development.
• Characterize polymer materials and assess how formulation and processing affect structure and properties.
• Analyze experimental data using DOE, JMP, Python, statistics, and visualization to optimize processes and drive recommendations.
• Document procedures and results, prepare technical reports and presentations, and perform literature reviews and technology scouting.
• Apply AI and advanced analytics to accelerate experimentation, enhance process understanding, and support engineering decisions.

You’re the kind of person we are looking for if you:

• Are currently pursuing a BS, MS, or Ph.D. in Plastics Engineering, Polymer Science, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering or scientific field.
• Have a strong foundation in polymeric materials and polymer processing, preferably including hands-on experience with extrusion, compounding, foaming, injection molding, or related processing technologies.
• Understand material-process-property relationships and have an interest in developing and optimizing polymer materials and manufacturing processes.
• Have experience with, or a strong interest in, Design of Experiments (DOE), statistical analysis, process optimization, and data-driven engineering; experience with JMP and/or Python is preferred.
• Familiarity with AI tools, machine learning concepts, or AI-assisted engineering and data-analysis workflows is an advantage.
• Are a self-motivated, innovative problem solver who learns quickly, enjoys hands-on laboratory work, and can work both independently and within multidisciplinary teams.
• Have strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to document, analyze, and present technical results.
• Preferably have prior internship, research, laboratory, or significant academic project experience related to polymer materials, polymer processing, materials science, or manufacturing process development.