Internship - 2027 PhD Research & Development Intern

3M•Austin, TX

8d•Onsite

About The Position

The role of PhD Research & Development Intern is intended to start in Summer 2027. This is a temporary position within 3M, with interns typically working a full-time schedule throughout a 10-12 week assignment. This position is limited to working 899 hours per service credit year. 3M provides eligible interns with a housing and transportation stipend in accordance with current policy. This position provides an opportunity to transition from other private, public, government or military experience to a 3M career. Applications are reviewed and filled on a rolling basis, so candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. A resume is required as part of the application. As a PhD Research & Development Intern, you will have the opportunity to tap into your curiosity and collaborate with some of the most innovative people around the world. R&D internships are available for both digital science and laboratory-based roles in the following areas: Corporate technology, Product engineering and development, and Digital science and engineering.

Requirements

Currently pursuing a PhD degree in science or engineering from an accredited institution.
Completed a minimum of Freshman Year (2 semesters) by the start of the internship.
Must be legally authorized to work in country of employment without sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B status).

Nice To Haves

Currently pursuing a PhD degree in fields such as Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, Software Engineering, Chemistry, Polymer Science, Biomolecular Engineering, or related disciplines from an accredited institution.
Experience in machine learning, deep learning, data science, computer vision, artificial intelligence, statistics, software engineering, and/or applied mathematics.
Strong scientific and technical acumen, with demonstrated interest and ability to make connections between science/technology and real-world concerns.
Strong problem-solving skills.
Ability to deal with the ambiguity of early-stage scouting and evaluation of new opportunities, and the flexibility to change direction as additional information becomes available.
Leadership and networking skills.
Self-motivated and self-directed.
Excellent communication skills (oral, written, and presentation).
6-12 months of practical laboratory experience in the synthesis of polymers and small molecules, chemical/polymer processing, advanced analytical and materials characterization, vapor coating, nanotechnology, development of sensors, and optical materials.
Hands-on experience in areas such as additive manufacturing, robotics, mechanical design, and/or hard goods.
Experience with Microsoft Azure ML and/or AWS ML.
Fluent in one or more programming languages (e.g., Python, MATLAB, C, C++, and/or R).
Ability to apply object-oriented design and/or design patterns to software development.
Fluent in understanding, manipulating, cleansing, and visualizing complex data.
Experience working with complex, distributed Big Data workflows.
Previous relevant intern experience or co-op with a company or university.
Use of designed experiments and statistical analysis of experimental results.
Demonstrated scientific excellence as evidenced by publications and presentations.

Responsibilities

Leveraging expertise to support the development of new technologies, providing growth opportunities, in addition to supporting existing 3M products, businesses, and operations.
Building your technical, communication, and leadership skills.
Collaborating with other R&D functions across 3M that can help advance projects, including researchers from other groups, analytical chemists, process engineers, etc.
Collaborating with senior researchers on an assigned product/technology development or an application/product engineering project.
Leading and directing assigned projects towards advanced technical solutions.
Documenting detailed experimental records in 3M electronic laboratory notebooks that can be used for invention submissions and potentially patent applications.
Analyzing, interpreting, and communicating experimental results.
Optimizing algorithms for computational efficiency, speed, and usability (in digital science roles).
Building capabilities with software tools e.g., Microsoft Azure ML and/or AWS ML, Python (in digital science roles).
Implementing complex data engineering processes to support innovative data science solutions (in digital science roles).
Leveraging key ML or AI solutions toward materials and engineering problems (in digital science roles).
Developing innovative models and simulations of complex chemical and physical processes (in digital science roles).
Complying with corporate policies, procedures and security standards while performing assigned duties.
Contributing to a strong Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) culture by following safety policies, identifying hazards, and engaging in continuous improvement.