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Research & Development (R&D) Intern

Chicago, Illinois, United States

fairlife, LLC is a Chicago-based nutrition company that creates great-tasting, nutrition-rich and dairy products to nourish consumers.

With nearly $3B in annual retail sales, fairlife’s portfolio of delicious, lactose-free, real dairy products includes: fairlife® ultra-filtered milk; Core Power® High Protein Shakes, a sports nutrition drink to support post-workout recovery; fairlife® nutrition plan™, a nutrition shake to support the journey to better health.

A wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola company, fairlife, LLC has been recognized by both Fast Company and Nielsen for its industry leading innovation.

To learn more about fairlife and its complete line of products, please visit fairlife.com.

about our internship program:

The fairlife Summer Internship Program is designed to welcome interns across our locations to gain meaningful experience and social and professional development opportunities. For 11 weeks, interns will work in one of our three locations: Chicago, IL, Coopersville, MI, or Goodyear, AZ. fairlife’s paid internship program also offers a summer full of social, professional, and community engagement events including exposure to our senior leadership and executives across the business in small group settings, insight into company initiatives, off-site field trips, and for those qualified and selected, an opportunity to pursue a full-time job opportunity.

The fairlife 2025 Summer Internship Program will take place from 6/2 through 8/15 at the fairlife location specified in this job description.

job purpose:  The fairlife internship experience provides an opportunity to work the Summer of 2025 with fairlife, LLC Research and Development (R&D) team, at our headquarters in Chicago, IL. This internship will be focused on supporting R&D initiatives in alignment with company objectives. This in-person summer program takes place over 11 weeks providing interns with a real sense of fairlife culture and working environment.

Responsibilities:

The intern will handle a project in one of the following areas:

  • Product development:
    • The intern will work under the supervision of the R&D team on a project to either develop new products, optimize an existing product formula, or evaluate ingredient functionality in a product with the objective of enhancing the organoleptic properties or optimizing cost while maintaining the high quality of our products.
    • The intern will be exposed to different aspects of product development from formulation, and pilot plant production through commercialization. This will include ingredient selection, ingredients testing, raw batch testing and final product testing.
  • Process/ technology development:
    • The intern will work under the supervision of the R&D team applying scientific principles to resolve a technical challenge, validate a testing method, or enhance efficiency.
    • The intern will be exposed to different aspects of milk processing technology, innovation, and improvement. The intern will learn about different dairy processing unit operations including cream separation, chilling, milk fractionation and heat treatment to ensure product safety and to increase shelf life.
  • Long-term research
    • The intern will work under the supervision of the R&D team applying scientific principles to resolve a technical challenge, validate a testing method, optimize processes for fractionation of milk or develop a new product focusing on health and wellness.
    • The intern will be exposed to different aspects of membrane filtration technology, innovation, and improvement. The intern will learn about dairy processing unit operations involved in the process to ensure product safety and to increase shelf life.

In all areas the intern is expected to:

  • Ask questions and learn quickly on the job
  • Conduct product testing and evaluations according to project objectives
  • Comply with lab safety protocols
  • Enter and analyze data
  • Create and maintain comprehensive records of the project
  • Maintain security and confidentiality of information within the R&D Department

Upon completion of the internship, the intern is expected to prepare a brief report and will have the opportunity to present the key learnings/findings to the R&D team.

skills/qualifications required:

  • Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Chemical Engineering or Food process engineering or closely related field and are currently in their sophomore, junior or senior year; eligible to start in Summer 2023
  • Possess a strong technical foundation in the sciences; dairy knowledge desired but not required
  • Cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0, or higher
  • Ability to take ownership of assignments and complete them
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to work in a team setting
  • Skilled in Microsoft Office Suite including MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

learning objectives: 

  • Listed within each group summary

 working conditions and physical requirements:

  • Ability to work 40 hours/week during the 2025 summer
  • Comply with lab safety protocols
  • Ability to lift up to 30 lbs.

internship location: Chicago, IL

schedule: On-Site with 5 – 10% travel to plant locations.

internship duration: 6/2/2025 through 8/15/2025

reports to: R&D

fairlife, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. All qualified applicants and employees will be given equal opportunity. Selection decisions are based on job-related factors.

In addition to its nondiscrimination commitment, the Company will also provide reasonable accommodation of qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the Company. If you have a disability and would like to request accommodation in order to apply for a position with us, please email careers@fairlife.com.

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