Validation & Prototype Engineering Intern – 2026 - Now Hiring!

About this Position

At Henkel, you’ll be part of an organization that’s shaping the future through innovation, sustainability and collaboration. With our trusted brands like Persil®, ‘all®, Loctite®, Snuggle®, and Schwarzkopf® and our cutting-edge technologies, you’ll have countless opportunities to explore new paths and grow.

This position is with our Adhesive Technologies business unit – where we empower our people to transform industries and provide our customers with a competitive advantage through adhesives, sealants and functional coatings.

Dare to learn new skills, advance in your career and make an impact at Henkel.

What you’ll do

Gain valuable hands-on experience in automotive prototyping, testing, and validation for next-generation vehicle models. As an intern, you will :

• Support Technical Design Engineers with acoustic, sealing and structural part validation
• Perform special engineering projects and supportive tasks that lead toward new innovations
• Support engineers with part design, functionality, 5D root-cause analysis, design reviews and limited new vehicle launch support
• Execute lessons-learned process
• Become familiar with Global Design Standards and provide feedback to engineers on proposal of new standards
• Documentation of engineering laboratory reports
• Ability to work a minimum of 12-20 hours per week and expand in the summer up to 40 hours per week depending on the student’s class schedule

What makes you a good fit

A current sophomore or junior student pursuing a degree in Engineering (Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Industrial Engineering or Computer Science)

Interest in automotive engineering and material science

Strong communication, technical design knowledge, problem solving and interpersonal skills

Ability to think and work under minimal supervision

Have the capability to use or be trained on 3D printers, band saws, drill press, metal press brake and shear, belt sanders, pneumatic and manual dispensing guns and general hand tools.

A good work ethic is a must

Some benefits of joining Henkel as an intern

Exciting projects that allow you to make real impact and collaborate with Henkel colleagues worldwide.

Countless learning opportunities available through Henkel’s online learning platform with over 9,000 professional courses.

Networking events with Henkel business leaders, experts and sustainability ambassadors.

Ongoing feedback discussions throughout the internship that allow you to accomplish concrete goals.

In-person and virtual social events to connect with other Henkel interns across the country.

Following your internship, you may be invited to join Henkel as a returning intern or full-time employee.

Additional information

This internship is NOT eligible for a housing stipend or relocation support.

The anticipated start date for this internship is January 19, 2026, and the anticipated end date is January 19, 2027.

This position requires you to be available to work ~20 hours / week.

Recruitment for our 2026 internships starts in late August 2025 and runs through early March 2026 or until all our positions are filled.

If selected to move forward in our recruitment process, you will receive an email from our talent acquisition team.

If a position you applied to is filled by another candidate, you will receive an email from our team alerting you that the position is closed.

The salary for this role is $22-$27 / hour. This is the range that we in good faith anticipate relying on when setting wages for this position. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and this range. This salary range may also be modified in the future.

Henkel is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories.