What are the responsibilities and job description for the Process Operations/Engineering Internship position at SMBSC?
Summary of position:
The Process Operations/Engineering Intern will learn Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative’s factory operations including how sugar is extracted, processed and delivered to customers. From these observations and learnings, the intern will assist in process optimizations, safety improvements, and environmental compliance activities for SMBSC.
Essential Functions:
- Learn about SMBSC’s operations by shadowing and mentoring with shift process and maintenance supervisors, crew leaders and operators, partnering with them on projects to improve process optimization, efficiency and safety as defined by the Operations Manager.
- Participate in trainings to help maintain a safe and clean work environment ensuring compliance with safety, food quality, and environmental policies and procedures
- Initiate and foster a spirit of teamwork.
- Investigate prioritized problems or projects, define scope of the problem and needs of the user, investigate potential solutions, obtain cost estimates for solutions, and define proposal. If approved execute project/solutions with additional project management support.
Core Competencies and Skill Requirements:
- Strong complex problem-solving skills
- Ability to solve problems with minimal guidance
- Ability to define problems, gather data, establish facts, use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems
- Quick and flexible learner
- Interested in learning a wide and eclectic set of technical information
- Ability to learn and apply new concepts and ideas quickly
- Desire to learn and solve a broad range of manufacturing topics
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Ability to develop interpersonal relationships
- Ability to have a high attention to detail
- Ability to work and communicate in a manufacturing setting
- Personal commitment to data sensitivity and integrity
- Ability to maintain a high level of interpersonal skills to handle sensitive and confidential situations
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office
- Ability to create and edit Microsoft Word documents
- Ability to design formulas and manipulate data in Microsoft Excel
- Strong work ethic
Ability to go out and learn about the process and equipment used to produce sugar from a raw material and ask questions that will enable the employee to become an integral part of the manufacturing process
- Preference will be toward 7–8-month coop vs. 3-month internship. Allowing a more comprehensive experience for the coop to learn, have impact and ownership of optimization opportunities and projects, and build their practical skills and knowledge of the SMBSC manufacturing environment.
Required Education and Experience:
High school graduate or GED, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree.
