Chemical Engineering Placement Student UK 2026

Cargill’s size and scale allows us to make a positive impact in the world. Our purpose is to nourish the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way.

Cargill is a family company providing food, ingredients, agricultural solutions and industrial products that are vital for living. We connect farmers with markets so they can prosper. We connect customers with ingredients so they can make meals people love. And we connect families with daily essentials — from eggs to edible oils, salt to skincare, feed to alternative fuel.

Our 160,000 colleagues, operating in 70 countries, make essential products that touch billions of lives each day. Join us and reach your higher purpose at Cargill.

This position is in Cargill’s food and bioindustrial business, where manufacturers, retailers, and foodservice companies rely on us to consistently deliver the products and services they need, and use our technical expertise and market knowledge to develop innovative products.

Location: Manchester

Start date: July 2026

£23,000 per year plus benefits

Are you looking for a placement at the end of your second or third year and are you studying a Chemical Engineering degree? If so, Cargill can offer you a superb opportunity to gain valuable work experience on our 13‑month Undergraduate programme.

During your placement with Cargill, you will spend your time in one of our sites in the UK.

You will be responsible for small projects from initial design to completion. This will involve justification of projects, design, liaise with contractors to obtain the best possible solution, installation and finally commissioning. This could be anything from modification of pipe work to implementing changes in the process.

You will participate in day-to-day manufacturing operations and this could include shift work. The Engineering Placement programme is a great pathway to the EMEA Graduate Program.

What you will be doing

• Comprehensive induction to Cargill including full safety training
• Spend time working on‑shift to learn our processes and support site production management
• Play an active part in running our process and supporting our business
• Support and lead small continuous improvement processes, delivering improvements around safety, food safety, product yield and process efficiency
• Be given direct responsibility for capital projects, including the design, installation and commissioning to help develop project management skills and responsibility for a future career
• Responsible for running regular site project update meetings and maintaining budget information for all site projects on Cargill’s project monitoring software
• Coordinate input from engineering disciplines and subject matter experts to ensure engineering designs meet the specific needs of the business
• Learn soft skills that will be transferable in your future career
• Gain an excellent working knowledge of unit operations learnt at university with hands on practical experience
• Develop the ability to work with a variety of different colleagues in our operations i.e. operators, supervisors, supply chain, finance, health & safety and food quality
• Be involved in citizenship activities within our local communities

What we are looking for

• Currently studying for an undergraduate Chemical Engineering Degree (BEng. or MEng.) with an expected grade of 2:1 or above
• Students that are able to take ownership, want to gain hands on experience, and are curious and passionate to learn as well as being a strong communicator
• Good technical understanding of a process environment
• Ability to learn to use new engineering and management software swiftly and proficiently
• A strong interest in our business, our industry and in particular the position you have applied for
• Fluency in English language

Application process

• The first stage of our recruitment process is an interview with a recruiter to assess and rate your responses to a series of questions about your motivation and experience. If successful, then you will be invited to participate in an assessment centre at one of our facilities.
• Prior to attending the assessment centre, you will be invited to complete some online testing at home.
• The assessment consists of a range of activities. You will have the opportunity to go on a site tour, learn about the unit operations and meet current placement students. If you need any reasonable adjustments or additional arrangements to support your application please let us know.
• We will give due consideration if you have a preferred location and we will meet your requests where possible, but we do expect placement students to be flexible in their location and to be prepared to be placed out of any of the production facilities.

Our Offer

We provide a fast paced stimulating international environment, which will stretch your abilities and channel your talents. We also offer competitive salary and benefits combined with outstanding career development opportunities in one of the largest and most solid private companies in the world.

Interested? Then make sure to send us your CV and cover letter in English today:

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cargill

Cargill is committed to being an inclusive employer. Click here to find out more https://www.cargill.com/careers/global-inclusion-and-diversity

Cargill is committed to being an inclusive employer. Click here to find out more https://careers.cargill.com/diversity/

#J-18808-Ljbffr

Salary: GBP 19000 - 27000 per year