Food Technical - 12m Internship in London

Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits

Location: London Store Support Centre and Home, London, EC1M 6HA

Contract type: Fixed-Term Assignment

Business area: Food Commercial

Closing date: 25 May 2026

We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. Here, everything in our stores starts in Sainsbury’s Commercial. From product, proposition, packaging and price, to whether it meets our sustainability commitments or simply tastes great, our team is responsible for all food, non-food and Clothing items available in Sainsbury’s stores, online and on demand. It’s an incredibly fast-paced environment. People here are in it together and aren’t afraid to take risks. The knowledge and experience you gain here could set you up for career moves anywhere else in the business. So, if you’re passionate about your products and just as hungry to learn, you’ll fit in perfectly.

If you’re studying for an undergraduate Food Science or Science related degree and thinking about your work placement year (sandwich year), there’s nowhere better to look than Sainsbury’s. This is a brilliant opportunity for internship within our technical function. Ensuring our food always tastes delicious whenever it lands in our customers' baskets is an important task, and one that falls to us in Sainsbury’s Brand. Over the years, we’ve built up quite the reputation for quality, taste, welfare and sustainability, so everything we do, we do with that in mind.

As an intern, you’ll put everything you have learnt during your degree so far into practice to deliver a project of real business benefit. This is paid work with a FTSE 100 business, and a real foot in the door for only the most ambitious students.

More about the role:

• On the Sainsbury’s Technical Internship, you’ll spend a year working alongside and being supported by experts in the Sainsbury’s Technical team.
• You will have the opportunity to build on your breadth of knowledge within a range of different product areas.
• Across the year you will complete two 6 month projects during your placement, these will be specific to your area and will provide an opportunity to work cross-functionally within the Sainsbury’s Technical team.
• This will give you greater insight into the Food retail industry and how our business works.
• You will present the findings of your two projects to leaders within the business.
• Have the opportunity to work with and visit our suppliers, giving you access to the whole supply chain.
• Have the opportunity to work in Store, giving you insight into how your work affects our retail colleagues.

What we’re looking for:

• A genuine passion for food and food retail.
• A desire to build on the learnings gained during your degree, and ability to apply your knowledge to real life / work situations.
• Ability to soak up knowledge from others within our business.
• Time management and organisational skills.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to present to a range of stakeholders.

Essential Criteria:

• You are a current second year bachelors student at university looking for an industry placement/ sandwich year opportunity.
• Minimum 2:2 degree predicted in Food Science or another Science related degree with a keen interest in food manufacturing and the food industry.
• You are proficient in Microsoft Office.
• You think critically, logically and analytically to solve problems.
• You work brilliantly with others, sharing ideas and using everyone’s strengths to get the best results.
• You are eager to learn – whether that’s about our organisation, our customers, or how things work behind the scenes.
• You are proactive and confidently make decisions.

In return you’ll get:

• Colleague Discount across our multi-brands including Sainsbury's, Argos and Habitat.
• Special Offers on gym memberships, restaurants, holidays, retail vouchers and more.
• Full year programme of inductions and immersions into our wider business.
• Ample resources at your fingertips – you’ll have everything you need to achieve your objectives and we will help you all the way.
• Help in navigating our business, and all other potential career journeys too, to help you make the right choice when you graduate.

Flexible working conversations are encouraged. Across our multi-brands, we’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer that champions a diverse and inclusive culture. If you’re reading this, even if you’re not 100% sure you’re there with your experience, we’d still love to hear from you. We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new – whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working.

When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to get 10% off at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks. This increases to 15% off at Sainsbury’s every Friday and 15% off at Argos every pay day. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 5% of salary, depending on how we perform. Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy additional holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, pay advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an employee assistance programme. Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.