Future Opportunities Process Engineering Co-Op (Fall 2025)

Location: Robinson, IL (Must be willing to travel/relocate)

Duration: Fall 2025 (August - December 2025)

We are currently prioritizing recruitment for Spring 2025 Co-Ops. However, we do have Summer 2025 and Fall 2025 openings as well. Please refer to the correct job posting based on your availability to complete a Co-Op or Internship.

Process Engineering Intern/Co-Op -

The Hershey Company has a great opportunity for a Process Engineering Co-op. Hershey, a Fortune 500 company, is a global confectionery leader known for bringing goodness to the world through its chocolate, sweets, mints, and other great-tasting snacks.  As the US Market leader in confections, Hershey takes great pride in its well-known brands such as Hershey's, Kisses, Reese's, Twizzlers, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers, and Brookside. At Hershey you will be part of a world-class team engaged in a dynamic and collaborative business environment. Centrally located in Pennsylvania, the town of Hershey is host to many big events and within hours of famous historical sites and great American cities.

The Process Engineering Intern/Co-Op will perform conceptual and detailed engineering design. They will implement and execute capital projects as part of a diverse project team. This position will work collaboratively with other Engineers, Manufacturing Business Units, Quality and Regulatory Compliance, Commercial Teams, and Vendors. The successful candidate will demonstrate integrity, strong communication and people skills, analytical mindset, project leadership, and technical acumen.

The goal of the engineering internship/co-op position are to provide opportunities for students to gain real world engineering experience in the Consumer Packaged Goods and Food processing industry and to help students develop professionally in a progressive manner with an increasing amount of responsibility.  The position gives an excellent opportunity to gain real world experience while working under the supervision of experienced Process Engineers to meet the Company goals. This position is ideally suited for students who are interested in and capable of working multiple rotations starting in June for the Fall 2024 semester.  

Responsibilities:

The Process Design and Implementation group is responsible for development & execution of medium to large capital projects at all manufacturing facilities with a strong focus on North America. 

Typical student assignments & responsibilities may include: 

• Working with multidisciplinary teams including personnel from manufacturing, product development, analytical research, quality assurance, industrial engineering, electrical engineering, and packaging engineering, equipment manufacturers, and installation contractors
• Design, specification, and purchase of process equipment & systems supporting approved projects. Preparing proper documentation of project work, including process flow diagrams, P&ID's, engineering calculations, process design documentation, and process test reports.
• Use of strong communication skills to coordinate and oversee equipment and system installation, check-out, and commissioning of designed systems.
• Hands on role in production environment for commissioning, and start-up of process systems. Troubleshooting and establishing operating parameters based on equipment design and operational performance.
• Successful transition of deliverables and documentation to Plant Operations and Maintenance staff.

Education

Must be an undergraduate student majoring in Chemical, Mechanical, Agricultural, or similar program from an ABET accredited engineering program at the sophomore level or higher.

 Key Competencies 

• Action oriented with a strong desire to make improvements to existing systems
• Strong problem solving, critical thinking, and analytical skills.  Ability to draw conclusions despite some uncertainty or ambiguity of information.
• Ability to apply understanding of sciences (biology, chemistry, food technology, engineering) and mathematics to provide technical support to the business
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• The ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously and work both independently and in multidisciplinary groups/teams with a high level of motivation
• A desire to work hands-on in manufacturing environments with equipment & products.
• Proficiency with common Windows based computer software programs, including Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.
• Familiarity with AutoCAD, MathCAD, SAP, and programming languages is preferred 

Requirements

• Eligibility to work in the United States for any employer.
• A valid Drivers’ License and a means of reliable transportation.
• Willingness to relocate to a manufacturing plant location to support a project execution.  Additional travel to support other assignments as required, up to 25% of the time. 
• Availability to work 40 hours per week. 
• Availability to work on a flexible schedule occasionally including off-shifts and weekends.

Please be advised that The Hershey Company welcomes all applicants to internships. However, Hershey will not provide immigration-related support for these internships.  

Hershey also will not provide immigration-related sponsorship (such as H-1B) for entry-level roles should you later apply for one of those roles in the future.