Packaging Engineer Intern​/Co-Op

A part of Colgate-Palmolive since 1976, Hill's Pet Nutrition offers the highest-quality pet nutrition available through product lines Prescription Diet® and Science Diet®. Veterinarians worldwide recommend and feed their own pets Hill's products more than any other brand of pet food. Available in approximately 80 countries around the world, our extensive line of products includes more than 60 Prescription Diet brand pet foods and more than 50 Science Diet brand pet foods.

We believe all animals should be loved and cared for during their lifetimes. That is why we are proud our pet foods can make a difference in your pet's life. A career at Hill’s Pet Nutrition or Colgate-Palmolive is an excellent opportunity if you seek a global experience, constant challenge, and development opportunities in an environment that respects work/life effectiveness.

Travel Required?:
No Travel

Posting

Start Date:

9/21/26

Hybrid

No Relocation Assistance Offered Job Number#176250 - Topeka, Kansas, United States

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company operating in over 200 countries specializing in Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care, Skin Care, and Pet Nutrition. Our products are trusted in more households than any other brand in the world, making us a household name! Join Colgate-Palmolive, a caring, innovative growth company reimagining a healthier future for people, their pets, and our planet.

Guided by our core values—Caring, Inclusive, and Courageous—we foster a culture that inspires our people to achieve common goals. Together, let's build a brighter, healthier future for all.

The Packaging Engineering Intern/Co-op will support the development, qualification, and implementation of packaging solutions for pet food products at Hill’s Pet Nutrition. This role partners closely with cross-functional teams to deliver consumer-centric packaging that meets performance, quality, cost, and manufacturability requirements.

• Assist packaging engineers in driving packaging projects to closure from concept through commercialization. Contribute to project documentation, timelines, and progress updates.
• Support LCA (Life cycle assessment) on packaging solutions and provide recommendations.
• Cross-functional collaboration:
  
  Work with Product Development, Marketing,Design, Supply Chain, and other functional groups to identify and develop packaging technologies.
• Help ensure solutions meet key attributes such as cost targets, consumer usage/functionality, manufacturability, and compatibility of materials with product formulations.

• Prepare and present clear technical summaries, packaging concepts, test results, and business impact to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Develop written reports, slide presentations, and supporting documentation.

• Support packaging development through pilot and manufacturing scale-up.
• Partner with Quality, Product Development, and manufacturing site teams to:
  Ensure packaging equipment/material system specifications, functionality, and design are appropriate for intended use.
• Confirm that packaging maintains product integrity and visual appeal under various shipping, handling, and display conditions.

• Monitor and/or conduct package testing (e.g., stability, transit, drop, compression, sealing, etc.).
• Analyze test data and prepare reports including conclusions and recommendations for design or process changes.
• Case/cube information, cost estimates, and savings estimates

• Develop a working knowledge of Packaging Laboratory test equipment and capabilities.
• Lea…