R&D Engineer Intern

Armstrong Flooring • Lancaster, PA

7d • Onsite

About The Position

Armstrong World Industries (AWI) is seeking motivated Chemical, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering students for a summer engineering internship at its Corporate Campus in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Interns will develop an in-depth understanding of Armstrong products, raw materials, manufacturing processes, and testing requirements while contributing to projects with measurable business impact, such as raw material substitutions, cost savings, product performance improvements, and process optimization.

Interns complete one or more assigned engineering projects from planning through final recommendation and contribute to ongoing R&D work supporting new product development, cost reduction, and continuous improvement. They support the project management life cycle, design and conduct experiments, collect and analyze data, present findings and recommendations, and plan and run lab-scale, pilot-scale, and plant trials. The role also provides exposure to large-scale manufacturing facilities, equipment, and safe working practices.

Discipline-specific work may include chemical engineering activities involving raw materials, formulations, and product performance; mechanical engineering work involving process equipment, material handling, thermal and fluid analysis, and 3D CAD; or electrical engineering work involving process controls, instrumentation, automation, machine vision, and data analytics.

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Chemical, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering in an ABET-accredited program.
• Must be no more than 24 months from graduation.
• Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA and 3.0 GPA within major.
• Outside-the-box thinking and a structured, data-driven approach to problem solving.
• Curiosity about how materials, equipment, and controls interact in a manufacturing process.
• Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills and a team-oriented mindset.
• Ability to build and nurture relationships with other AWI functions, including plant personnel.
• Comfort working hands-on in lab, pilot, and plant environments.
• Ability to turn technical results into clear business recommendations, in writing and presentations.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Excellent time management and ability to manage several priorities and meet deadlines.
• A track record of leadership through work, school, or extracurricular activities.

Nice To Haves

• Previous internship or co-op in a manufacturing or R&D environment.
• Coursework or project experience in Design of Experiments (DOE) and statistical analysis, such as Minitab.
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement methods.
• Chemical Engineering: Lab experience with material characterization, formulation, slurries, or coatings.
• Mechanical Engineering: Autodesk 3D modeling (Inventor/Fusion) and Autodesk simulation experience.
• Electrical Engineering: Experience with PLCs such as Allen-Bradley/Rockwell, sensors and instrumentation, data acquisition, machine vision, automation, and AI/ML tools.

Responsibilities

• Complete one or more assigned engineering projects during the internship, from planning through final recommendation.
• Contribute to ongoing R&D projects supporting new product development, cost reduction, and continuous improvement.
• Support the project management life cycle by preparing project specifications and requirements, coordinating schedules and using project management tools, executing and closing projects, and supporting sustainability initiatives.
• Design experiments, collect and analyze data, and present findings and recommendations to R&D leadership and business partners.
• Plan and run lab-scale, pilot-scale, and plant trials.
• Work hands-on in lab, pilot, and plant environments and learn about manufacturing facilities, equipment, and safe working practices.
• Depending on discipline, evaluate and qualify alternative raw materials; develop slurry and formulation work; study product performance; characterize materials and processes; design or improve process equipment and operations; perform thermal and fluid analysis; use 3D CAD and design-for-manufacturing reviews; support process controls, PLC/HMI programming, instrumentation, sensors, and data acquisition; or apply automation, machine vision, and AI/data analytics to quality inspection and process optimization.

Benefits

• Opportunity to begin a career with an innovative building products company.
• Opportunity to help transform the design and building of spaces so occupants, owners, operators, and communities can thrive.
• Ownership of real projects with measurable business impact.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern