Engineering Intern (Metallurgical / Mineral Processing / Chemical)

Intel-E-Waste | State College, PA – On-Site | $25–$35/hr commensurate with education and experience | Full-time temporary and Part-time opportunities are available; Duration: Flexible | For this position, the company does not sponsor applicants for work visas. However, the company actively assists CPT/OPT-eligible students in achieving their career objectives; therefore, CPT/OPT-eligible applicants are encouraged to apply for this part-time, off-campus position.

• Are you an engineering student who chose this field because you wanted to solve real problems – only to find that most of your coursework has you analyzing cases that someone else already solved, using data that someone else already collected?
• Have you ever thought seriously about what happens to electronics the world discards every year – the phones, the laptops, the solar panels – and wondered why so little of the copper, gold, and silver inside them is ever recovered? And whether someone with your training could help fix that?
• What would it mean to your development as an engineer to spend a semester – or a summer – not running problem sets, but running actual experiments, on real materials, for a technology that is moving toward commercial scale right now?
• When was the last time you stepped into a lab with true curiosity, driven not by grades but by the thrill of genuine discovery? If you’re having trouble remembering … keep reading.
• And this one: are you the kind of student who notices the gap between how something is supposed to work and how it really works – and wants to understand why, rather than just moving on to the next assignment?

If you are currently pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in engineering, materials science, chemistry, or a closely related technical field – and you are genuinely curious about materials processing, sustainability, and what it takes to build a technology company from the ground up – you owe it to yourself to find out what Intel-E-Waste is building.

 Meet Intel-E-Waste

E-waste is the fastest-growing waste stream on the planet and expected to more than double by 2050. Every discarded phone, laptop, and solar panel contains copper, gold, silver, lithium, and other critical materials essential to the clean energy economy. Right now, most of it ends up in a landfill, and those materials are lost forever.

Intel-E-Waste was founded by a research team with deep expertise in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy, the same scientific principles that govern how the mining industry separates and recovers metals, applied now to the materials hiding inside your discarded electronics. Backed by federal funding and years of rigorous laboratory research, the team developed and patented a low-cost, heat-free, zero-waste process that selectively separates multiple critical materials from e-waste, a turnkey solution adaptable to existing recycling facilities or deployable at collection sites that currently perform no material recovery.

The technology is validated, the market mapped, and key relationships are underway. Now comes the real work: turning proven processes into scalable, deployable, physical systems. You will contribute directly through the experimental program driving this transformation.

Why This Internship and Why Now

This is not a coffee-and-copies internship. It is a working role inside a small, funded, patent-backed startup at the precise moment when the experimental program that will determine this company’s commercial future is being built and run. The work you do here connects directly to outcomes, not through six layers of organization, but through the next conversation with the engineer standing next to you in the lab. 

The intern who joins now will: 

• Work alongside – and report directly to – the Process Development Engineer and Managing Director. In an organization this size, there is no buffer between you and the people making decisions about what gets built next.
• Contribute to real experimental work: sample preparation, equipment operation, data collection and analysis that feeds directly into the process development program. Your data will be used.
• Develop practical analytical and laboratory skills that most engineering students don’t encounter until well into their careers – including exposure to physical separation processes, materials characterization, and early-stage techno-economic thinking.
• Experience what it’s like to take patented technology from a university lab to commercial deployment – not as a case study, but as a participant in the process.
• Contribute to recovering critical materials that currently vanish into landfills, supporting U.S. supply chain independence and the low-carbon economy. The stakes behind this work are not abstract.

We offer a collaborative, intellectually open environment where interns who are curious, precise, and motivated have real room to contribute ideas, ask hard questions, and leave a mark on the work – from day one.

Essential Job Duties Include, But Are Not Limited To:

• Laboratory Experiment Support and Sample Preparation   FTE: ~40% | Daily Assist in the execution of laboratory experiments, including sample preparation and characterization, physical and chemical separation tasks. Support equipment operation under the direction of the Process Development Engineer. Follow established experimental protocols accurately and consistently. Assist with setup, adjustment, and teardown of experiments, and contribute to general lab organization and workspace maintenance.
• Data Analysis and Reporting Support   FTE: ~30% | Daily / Weekly Collect, organize, and analyze experimental data using Excel and other relevant tools. Assist in the preparation of figures, tables, charts, and written summaries for use in internal reports, funding deliverables, and external communications. Support the broader team’s reporting efforts by ensuring data is accurately recorded, clearly organized, and traceable to its source.
• Research and Documentation    FTE: ~20% | Weekly Conduct focused literature reviews to support ongoing technical and process development work. Summarize the findings clearly and concisely for the engineering team. Support the documentation of experimental procedures, protocols, and results in accordance with established lab standards. Contribute to maintaining accurate and complete records of the experimental program.
• Lab Organization and General Support   FTE: ~10% | As Needed Contribute to the overall organization, cleanliness, and operational readiness of the laboratory environment. Support inventory awareness of lab supplies and materials; communicate proactively when replenishment is needed. Assist with ad hoc tasks that support the smooth execution of the experimental program and the broader team’s work.

Required Minimum Qualifications

• Currently pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in chemical engineering, materials science, mineral or metallurgical engineering, environmental engineering, chemistry, or closely related technical discipline.
• Demonstrated academic engagement with and interest in materials processing, sustainability, or related technical areas, evidenced through coursework, research involvement, or extracurricular technical activity.
• Basic proficiency in data analysis using Excel; the ability to organize, calculate, and present experimental data clearly and accurately.
• Strong attention to detail and a demonstrated ability to follow written protocols and procedures accurately, consistently, and completely.
• A genuine willingness to learn in an unfamiliar environment: to ask questions, take directions, acknowledge what you don’t know, and apply feedback quickly.
• The ability to work effectively within a small, fast-moving team – communicating status clearly, flagging issues promptly, and contributing to a collaborative and focused work environment.

Preferred Qualifications

The following are not required but represent the background of an especially strong candidate:

• Prior laboratory or research experience – whether through coursework, undergraduate research, co-op, or independent study – that involved direct engagement with physical materials or experimental equipment.
• Exposure to materials processing, separation processes, recycling systems, or chemical processing in any academic or practical context.
• Familiarity with, or coursework in Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) and/or Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), including any experience working with process data, cost modeling, or environmental impact frameworks.
• Experience preparing technical figures, tables, or written summaries for an academic or professional audience.
• Prior experience in a university research lab, startup environment, or other fast-paced, early-stage technical setting is a strong plus.  

Other Considerations

• Background and investigative checks may be conducted as part of the hiring process; results must be satisfactory for the company. 

Intel-E-Waste operates from its offices and laboratory in State College, PA, located in Happy Valley, one of the Mid-Atlantic region’s most vibrant innovation communities and home to Penn State University. The company’s laboratory and pilot operations are conducted in a fully operational, controlled process environment.

Work is mainly conducted in designated labs, pilot areas, and offices. Individuals may be required to work in proximity to process equipment, chemicals (including acids and solvents used in processing operations), and material samples. All work is expected to be conducted in full compliance with applicable safety requirements and company protocols.

Anyone entering or leaving the laboratory or pilot areas must wear the required PPE as specified in the company SOPs. The company provides safety glasses, gloves, and lab coats. Closed-toe shoes and long pants are required at all times. Contact lenses may be prohibited in areas with chemical hazards.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here represent those that an individual must meet to successfully perform the essential functions of this role. 

Work regularly requires individuals to talk, hear, stand, or sit for extended periods while using computers, laboratory instruments, and other tools to conduct experimental work and communicate with team members. While performing job duties, the individual is regularly required to reach with hands and arms. The individual frequently uses hands to handle, operate, and manipulate equipment, tools, instruments, materials, and samples. The individual is regularly required to stoop, bend, kneel, crouch, and perform fine-motor tasks associated with the operation of laboratory instruments and sample handling.

The individual must regularly lift, carry, push, or pull up to 50 pounds, including material samples, equipment components, pilot-scale system parts, and supply containers. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

This role requires regular physical presence in the laboratory to support experimental work, equipment operation, and sample handling. Occasional or regular exposure to vibrations, fumes, odors, dust, gases, chemicals, and other materials is possible. Appropriate PPE and safety protocols mitigate these exposures; compliance with all safety requirements is mandatory.

APPLY TODAY – because we’re looking forward to learning about you! 

Thank you for your interest in exploring this opportunity with Intel-E-Waste. 

We are not looking for average. We are looking for a curious, motivated engineering student who is ready to do real work on a problem that genuinely matters. If you’ve read this far and recognized yourself in this posting – apply today. In your cover letter, tell us what excites you most about this work and what you hope to learn and contribute. That’s the kind of initiative we’re already hoping to see!

Intel-E-Waste, a registered trade name of Inventra Technologies LLC, is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Employment is based solely on merit and qualifications directly related to professional competence. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. Our company is also committed to providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities in the employment application process and will consider reasonable accommodation to enable them to perform essential job functions.