Industrial Engineer Internship

Lumbermen's•Byron Center, MI

About The Position

The Summer 2027 Industrial Engineering Internship is a paid, hands-on opportunity to work with Lumbermen’s door production team and gain experience in manufacturing, process improvement, and lean operations. The intern will collaborate with operations and production teams to evaluate existing processes, identify improvement opportunities, and help implement solutions that increase efficiency, productivity, and quality in a manufacturing environment. The role includes measuring production cycle times, balancing lines, evaluating workstation ergonomics, identifying and reducing waste, supporting production layout initiatives, and documenting standard operating procedures. The intern will also develop process standards and standard hours, design and update work-cell layouts, participate in Kaizen and 5S activities and root-cause problem-solving, analyze production data, and present project findings and recommendations to the operations team. Lumbermen’s is an employee-owned distributor and manufacturer headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and operates in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Minnesota. The company describes its mission as enriching lives by intentionally caring for all who experience it. It is a drug- and alcohol-free workplace, does not discriminate against employees or candidates on protected grounds, and participates in E-Verify.

Requirements

Pursuing a degree in Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field.
Strong analytical skills.
Strong communication skills.
Desire and willingness to learn.
Strong internal motivation.
Openness to feedback.
Problem-solving skills.
Relationship-management skills.
Ability to model and drive safe working practices.
Ability to lead by example and demonstrate a positive attitude and outlook.

Responsibilities

Measure production cycle times, perform line balancing, and evaluate workstation ergonomics to identify productivity and efficiency improvements.
Identify production waste and develop recommendations for waste elimination and operational improvement.
Support production layout initiatives.
Assist with documenting and maintaining standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Develop process standards and establish standard hours for individual manufacturing operations.
Design, evaluate, and update work-cell layouts to improve workflow, space utilization, and material flow.
Participate in Kaizen events, 5S initiatives, and root-cause problem-solving projects to identify and eliminate non-value-added activities.
Collaborate with production supervisors and team members to understand processes, identify challenges, and implement improvements.
Collect and analyze production data to measure process performance and evaluate improvement initiatives.
Present project findings, recommendations, and process-improvement results to the operations team.