Industrial Engineering Intern – Process Improvement & Time Studies

Company: Hot Grabba LLC

Location: South Florida — On-site

Compensation: $20.00 per hour

Employment type: Paid temporary internship; hourly and nonexempt

Duration: Approximately 16 weeks

Schedule: Approximately 24–32 hours per week during active production hours

Start date: To be determined

Hot Grabba LLC is a growing South Florida manufacturer of premium tobacco products. Interns gain hands-on experience applying classroom knowledge to production, process mapping, time studies, quality, data analysis, and continuous improvement while working with company leaders to support safer, more efficient, and consistent manufacturing operations.

Hot Grabba is seeking an Industrial Engineering Intern to help us measure, document, analyze, and improve our tobacco production and processing operations.

This is a hands-on opportunity for a student interested in manufacturing, work measurement, Lean operations, quality, data analysis, and continuous improvement. You will spend time on the production floor observing actual work processes and converting those observations into reliable data, process maps, and practical recommendations.

The internship will cover multiple operations, including:

• Grabba Chips production
• Bottling
• Packing and packaging
• Whole Leaf preparation and packing
• Raw-material receiving, conditioning, staging, and internal movement
• Quality inspections, holds, rework, cleaning, and changeovers
• Waste handling and finished-goods movement

You will work with Operations, Production, Processing, Quality, Safety, Human Resources, and experienced production employees.

• Create an inventory and end-to-end map of Hot Grabba's production and tobacco-processing activities.
• Develop SIPOC diagrams, current-state flowcharts, future-state maps, and movement or spaghetti diagrams.
• Break processes into measurable work elements and define units of output, quality checkpoints, delay categories, and observation rules.
• Design and conduct representative time-and-motion studies and work-sampling observations.
• Measure cycle time, touch time, waiting time, setup, cleaning, changeovers, inspection, rework, transportation, employee movement, material handling, queues, and interruptions.
• Analyze production variation, bottlenecks, sustainable capacity, first-pass yield, rework, scrap, and the conditions affecting performance.
• Compare proposed production targets with observed process data and clearly communicate what the evidence supports.
• Identify waste, internal process weaknesses, external operational threats, and opportunities for improvement.
• Develop prioritized improvement recommendations supported by data, expected benefits, risks, and validation methods.
• Assist with approved low-risk improvement trials and compare results against the original baseline.
• Prepare weekly progress updates and present final findings and recommendations to company leadership.

This is a supervised learning role. The intern will collect, organize, and analyze operational information but will not independently establish employee quotas or approve process changes.

By the end of the internship, the selected student is expected to produce:

• A master inventory of production and processing activities
• Current-state and proposed future-state process maps
• A structured time-and-motion study database
• Analysis of cycle times, variation, delays, and capacity
• Identification of major bottlenecks, waste, weaknesses, and operational risks
• Prioritized process-improvement proposals
• An implementation and validation roadmap
• A final presentation for company leadership

• How to conduct defensible time-and-motion studies in an active manufacturing environment
• How to collect and analyze production data while accounting for process variation
• How to transform production-floor observations into clear process documentation
• How to identify bottlenecks, waste, capacity constraints, and quality issues
• How material condition, equipment, layout, work methods, staffing, and supplier variation affect performance
• How to present engineering findings and recommendations to employees and business leaders
• How Industrial Engineering principles support operational decision-making in a growing company

• Currently pursuing a bachelor's or master's degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Systems Engineering, Operations Research, Mechanical Engineering, Logistics Engineering, Engineering Management, or a closely related field
• Coursework or project experience in work measurement, process mapping, engineering statistics, manufacturing systems, quality, operations, or process improvement
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, including formulas, pivot tables, charts, and data organization
• Ability to work on-site and spend extended periods observing active production operations
• Strong analytical, organizational, documentation, and communication skills
• Ability to evaluate processes objectively and communicate findings that may differ from initial assumptions
• Ability to protect confidential operational and employee information
• Legal authorization to work in the United States

• Junior, senior, or graduate-level standing
• Coursework or project experience involving Lean, Six Sigma, DMAIC, statistical process control, methods engineering, ergonomics, facility layout, simulation, or root-cause analysis
• Experience with Visio, Lucidchart, Minitab, Power BI, Tableau, R, Python, or similar mapping and analytical tools
• Previous exposure to manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, agriculture, regulated products, or high-variation manual production
• Eligibility to receive academic credit or access to a faculty advisor
• English and Spanish bilingual skills are helpful but not required

• Curiosity and a willingness to learn directly from production employees
• Respectful and neutral observation and interviewing skills
• Attention to data quality, sampling limitations, and process variation
• Ability to distinguish process limitations from individual performance assumptions
• Strong safety awareness, professional judgment, and integrity
• Ability to organize a multi-process project and complete weekly deliverables

The internship includes work at an office or workstation and within an active manufacturing environment. It may require extended standing and walking, repeated process observations, proximity to production equipment, exposure to normal facility noise, and use of required personal protective equipment.

The selected student will work near tobacco leaf, tobacco-related dust or residue, and humidified or steam-treated tobacco. All safety, sanitation, hygiene, confidentiality, and product-handling procedures must be followed.

Hot Grabba LLC provides equal employment opportunities to qualified applicants and employees without unlawful discrimination. Employment decisions are based on job-related qualifications, performance, and business needs. Reasonable accommodations will be considered for qualified individuals.

This internship is designed to provide supervised educational and professional experience. Completion of the internship does not guarantee continued or permanent employment.

Please submit the following through Handshake:

• Current résumé
• Unofficial transcript or relevant course list
• Brief statement explaining your interest in manufacturing, process improvement, or work measurement
• Your anticipated graduation date and weekly availability