Research & Development Summer Internships

We have three Research & Development Summer Internships as listed below:

R&D Intern for Artificial Leather Department

Artificial Leather is a widely used product for automotive applications, such as seating and door panels.  An internship in Research and Development will support several different development projects for the next generation of artificial leather products.  Responsibilities include raw material evaluations, prototype development, and product performance testing.  The R&D Intern will gain real world, hands-on experience in plastic formulation in a production environment.  They will participate in all aspects of the development process and interface with other groups involved in the development process, from initiation to industrialization.

R&D Intern for Pool Liner Durability Study - (Development PVC Films)

Inground Pool liner is made from flexible PVC.  There is a long use history and an established industry specification.  The care of the pool water chemistry is important in extended the useful life of a pool liner.  We know and get some complaints about fading after sometimes in a relatively short time in the field.  Is this due to the poor maintenance of the pool, or is it a material related issue?  Traditional testing does not show the type of fade seen with customer complaints.  What tests, or combination of tests, can be used to better simulate the failure mechanisms in the field?  Once we know this, then products can be developed to better resist these conditions and add value for the customer.

R&D Intern for TPO Thermoforming Process & Raw Material Influence

Thermo-Plastic Polyolefin products are one of the most widely used and most process complex materials within the automotive world. Applications such as door and instrument panels are commonly produced with thermoforming tooling and molds, which require different types of process set ups. Usually these tools are highly expensive and require a significant amount of time to be manufactured and installed prior to testing our material, based upon this a deep understanding of how our laboratory TPO recipes will perform in our production line together with the customer processes is vital.
 
Intern will perform lab tests under different set ups & tooling conditions on our lab thermoforming equipment to predict “shrink” and other mechanical properties, and to develop a way to correlate and predict a test method, with the respective understanding of material limits, to understand the extreme set ups for each TPO construction.

In addition to this, the Intern will elaborate a Raw Material data base used within the formulations where a collection of raw material samples, using various analytical equipment (rheometry, melt flow, spectroscopy, etc.) to analyze and characterize them, and creating a database for results.

The project includes international norms investigation, lab work, numerical correlation, statistical analysis and method development.

Also, close cooperation with operative departments and international collaboration with Mexico, Germany and China.  

These are full-time paid internship opportunities working in different areas of the Research & Development Department.  The hours would be dayshift Monday thru Friday and the positions would be for approximately three months.

Applicants for positions must be currently enrolled as a student in an accredited college or university. Degree preferences for these internships are preferably Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Material Engineering, or Chemistry. Applicants must also have a 2.8 GPA. 

WHY SHOULD YOU APPLY

• Immediate Benefits
• Paid Time Off
• Employee Discounts
• Annual Bonus
• Employer 401(k) Match
• On-Site Gym
• And more benefits that come with working for a global industry leader!

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

EEO-Statement:

EEO / AA / Disabled / Protected Veteran Employer. Continental offers equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals, without regard to unlawful consideration to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law. In addition, as a federal contractor, Continental complies with government regulations, including affirmative action responsibilities, where they apply. To be considered, you must apply for a specific position for which Continental has a current posted job opening. Qualifying applications will be considered only for the specific opening(s) to which you apply. If you would like to be considered for additional or future job openings, we encourage you to reapply for other opportunities as they become available. Further, Continental provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with a disability. If you need assistance in the application process, please reply to Careers@conti-na.com or contact US Recruiting at 248.393.5566. This telephone line and email address are reserved solely for job seekers with disabilities requesting accessibility assistance or an accommodation in the job application process. Please do not call about the status of your job application, if you do not require accessibility assistance or an accommodation. Messages left for other purposes, such as following up on an application or non-disability related technical issues, will not receive a call back.

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THE COMPANY

ContiTech, a division of Continental, is one of the world's leading suppliers of technicial elastomer products and is a specialist in plastics technology. ContiTech develops and produces functional parts, components, and systems for machine and plant engineering, mining, the automotive industry, and other important industries. Our Winchester, Virginia location is seeking Maintenance Technicians to join our team. The ideal candidates will be involved in all aspects of plant maintenance and mechanical equipment reliability.

Are you ready to shape the future with us?