2025 Summer Continuous Improvement Intern (Mount Olive, NC)

Butterball, LLC, one of America’s most iconic brands, helps consumers celebrate Thanksgiving and every day in between. Located in the thriving Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina area, our goal is to provide a diverse array of career opportunities and paths which include our farms, processing facilities and support offices. We are the largest producer of turkey products in the U.S., and we make a lot more than Thanksgiving turkeys. Our company’s measurable growth is in no small part due to our team members in North Carolina, Arkansas, Illinois, and Missouri, who each have a seat at the table to contribute to our success

Ready to shape the future of food? 

Join Butterball, America’s favorite turkey brand, for an exciting summer internship! Butterball, LLC, is one of America’s most iconic brands and the most loved and trusted brand of turkey in the United States. Known for helping consumers celebrate Thanksgiving, Butterball also brings delicious turkey products to tables around the world every day. Located in the thriving Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina area, our business model gives us the opportunity to provide a diverse array of career opportunities and paths which include live operations, processing facilities, corporate functions and support offices. At Butterball, we aim to provide great-tasting foods that bring people together and inspire meaningful moments with the people who matter most. 

You’ll gain hands-on experience in food production while contributing to our team’s success. 

Over 10-12 weeks, the Continuous Improvement Intern, you’ll work in our processing plant located in Mount Olive, NC. The Continuous Improvement will have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects associated with lean manufacturing principles and the Butterball Operating System Solutions (BOSS). In addition, they will provide support to the operations team to reduce waste throughout the plant. They will assist with continuous improvement projects, contribute towards and support annual productivity goals while working with site cross functional teams. 

What you’ll do:

• Supporting and implementation of the Continuous Improvement program for the site utilizing BOSS direction setting
• Focus on the implementation of the Continuous Improvement phase and KPIs support/delivery
• Study and gather data from production to minimize losses and drive throughput
• Reduce inedible waste – identify high scrap areas by line and implement a process to capture data for Process Usage
• Film Waste Reduction – Identify top root causes by machine and run process that creates film waste and implement improvement plans
• Develop Centerlines and Standardized Machine Settings to reduce equipment adjustments
• Identify low-performing lines through efficiency monitoring and Downtime Review
• Other responsibilities as assigned by the manager
• Support to Develop standard work for work cells in various value streams and develop process maps.
• Provides support for GEMBA walks and action register
• Learn to eliminate waste (machine downtime, cost of production, movement, etc) in the workplace.
• Research related projects surrounding data analysis.

What you’ll get:

• Hands-on experience and professional development.
• Opportunities to network and learn from industry experts.
• Competitive compensation and benefits.

We’re looking for awesome students like you! 

Do you have a knack for problem-solving and a passion for food? We’re looking for creative minds who can help us make our food production process even better. You’ll need to be a team player, ready to roll up your sleeves and get things done. Think you have what it takes to make a delicious difference? 

• Pursuing a Bachelors, or Masters in Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering or related field with an expected graduation date of December 2025 through June 2026
• All participants in this program are required to have a valid drivers’ license and reliable transportation to and from work.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Research experience
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Creative problem solving and critical thinking
• Ability to work with minimum supervision
• Effective communication, both written and oral
• Working on cross departmental efforts and team members of all grade levels
• Strong attention to detail, data analysis, and reporting skills, strong organizational and time management skills.
• Self-motivated with a high level of initiative, able to work well independently.

Are you up for the challenge? Apply Now!

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of what is required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not imply or establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer. Butterball, LLC is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to the fair and impartial treatment of all employees and applicants for employment without regard to gender, age, race, religion, color, national origin, physical or mental disability, military/veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, marital status, parental status, pregnancy, or any other status protected by law. This position is deemed Safety Sensitive for purposes of Butterball’s Drug/Alcohol Screening & Testing Policy. Details will be provided to individuals who receive a conditional job offer, or upon request.

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