Kepak NPD, Technical & Operations - 12 Month Industrial Placement

Kepak 12-Month Industrial Placement – NPD, Technical & Operations (Food Manufacturing)

Are you looking for a placement year where you can get stuck into real factory trials, work with passionate food people, and see how new products and process improvements happen in practice? We’re looking for an enthusiastic student to join our site team, based at our New World Foods site in York, for a 12-month placement, supporting NPD, Technical and Operations projects that make a measurable impact on efficiency, yield and customer delivery.

What you’ll be doing

• Supporting and attending production trials to establish improved ways of working and increase efficiency and yield.
• Collecting and analysing trial data, turning it into clear insights, summaries and recommendations.
• Preparing customer samples and supporting NPD with customer requests and sample logistics.
• Supporting the Technical team with key operational projects, documentation and cross-functional problem solving.

What we’re looking for

• A student on an industrial placement year, studying Food Science/Technology (or related degree).
• A real passion for the food industry and interest in how products are developed and manufactured.
• Confidence in a factory environment and willingness to work hands-on with production teams.
• Strong attention to detail and good data skills (Excel).
• A proactive, positive approach and the ability to work well with different teams.

What you’ll gain

• Hands-on experience with real production trials and continuous improvement activity.
• Structured support, mentoring and exposure to NPD, Technical and Operations leadership.
• A placement project(s) you can take ownership of and present at the end of your placement.

Key details

• Duration: 12 months
• Start date: July 2026
• Location: New World Foods – York
• Hours: 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday (flexibility required to support trials)
• Salary: £26,500
• Closing for applications: 29th of May 2026

Personal Attributes

•Enthusiasm & Willingness to Learn: Open to new experiences and eager to acquire knowledge in the meat processing industry.

•Confidence & Assertiveness: Able to communicate assertively and stand their ground when addressing quality issues while maintaining amicable relationships with colleagues.

•Resilience: Comfortable working in a challenging environment, including exposure to abattoirs and carcass locations.

We will be looking for alignment with our Core Values:

Responsibility – Ability to work on your own initiative and take accountability for your actions

Ambition – You will have the willingness and confidence to challenge yourself to be the best you can be and be driven to succeed

Passion for Food – this is at the heart of everything we do, you must be passionate about every aspect of our industry

Teamwork – ability to build positive relationships quickly with people from all cultures and career stages is pivotal

• Employee Discount Scheme
• Service-Related Annual Leave
• Educational Assistance/ L&D
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee assistance programme