Sweetener Food Science Intern; Summer

About Ingredion:

Join Ingredion, where innovation impacts lives worldwide! Without even realizing it, you’ve experienced our work in your favorite chocolate, your pet’s food, the paper you write on, and your everyday snacks. As a global powerhouse across more than 60 industries, we harness the potential of natural ingredients to transform lives. Whether you’re just starting your career or bringing years of experience, there's a place for you here to make a real difference.

Be part of our team that values a wide range of perspectives and is committed to shaping a better world with every product we create.

Bedford Park Idea Labs – Bedford Park, IL

Hybrid/On Site min 4 days/week

We have an exciting opportunity for an ambitious student to join our R&D team for summer 2027! As the Sweetener Technical Service Intern
, you will support progression of a research project related to nutritive sweeteners. The first will be to refresh a series of food/beverage formulations to produce on-trend finished products that effectively demonstrate ingredient functionality to our customers. The second will be gathering and generating Sweetener ingredient characterization data to support customer technical inquiries. You will have the opportunity to learn about various sweeteners and their importance in finished foods, review food category trends and evaluate sensory characteristics of various formulations.

Leading formulations may be presented to customers and/or at trade shows during the summer.

• Operating analytical and food laboratory equipment safely and with little direct supervision to support project needs
• Maintaining a clean, safe work environment; following guidelines for GMP (good manufacturing practice), good housekeeping and safety (both food safety and personnel safety)
• Conducting searches on prior art (literature, internal and external prior work), and current technology including category market trends (Beverage, Baking, Dairy, Confectionery, Savory), and incorporating findings in appropriate formulations and data archive locations
• Presenting project status, updates, and outcomes to team and key partners
• Performing laboratory experiments including sensory analysis, conduct data analysis and interpret results to make recommendations to project team and support the project
• Documenting data in archiving databases and/or customer presentation formats as appropriate; effectively and professionally communicating results to project teams and partners
• Presenting research findings to management with recommendations for future projects at completion of internship period

• Progress towards a Bachelor's degree in Food Science or related field with prior laboratory experience. Basic food formulation experience is a plus.
• Ability to work safely in a laboratory environment
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written technical communication skills, e.g. making presentations and writing technical data/reports
• Working knowledge of basic computer software applications such as MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint). Willingness to learn new database formats as needed

• Eager to explore careers in the food & beverage industry
• Ability to work collaboratively with peers and others
• Creative problem-solver with a continuous improvement mindset and adapt to changing priorities
• Proven ability to effectively organize and manage multiple projects, and deliver under agreed upon timelines

• Currently possess unrestricted authorization to work in the United States. Ingredion does not intend to sponsor work visas with respect to this position or to provide this position as OPT or CPT.
• Be a currently enrolled student in a…