Student/Trainees Product Devlp.

The core task of the Product Development Sustainability team at KION is the implementation of sustainable innovations in the company’s portfolio to reduce the product environmental impact. The focus of this master’s thesis internship is to provide the company with validated technical data and clear design recommendations enabling future components to be designed considering techno-economical feasibility, global warming potential reduction, C2C recommendations and manufacturability.

We offer:

• Hands-on experience in an industrial environment, working alongside engineers and sustainability specialists on real-world projects with tangible impact.
• Meaningful contribution to KION Group's sustainability agenda, supporting initiatives that shape the future of green logistics and responsible manufacturing.

Tasks and Qualifications:

• Material Guideline document (method, criteria, recommended materials and implementation notes).
• Decision-matrix template with scoring, normalization and weighting setup ready for reuse.
• At least one worked case-study (plastic component) demonstrating screening
• Possible outputs: LCA reports, test/validation summary, cost analysis, sensitivity analysis and presentation for stakeholders

Requirements

• Graduating student completing a master’s degree in materials engineering.
• Knowledge of topics related to polymers: chemistry and physics, processing and manufacturing, additives, material blends.
• Knowledge of topics related to sustainability: end-of-life options, circularity concepts, environmental impact categories.
• Knowledge of materials characterization techniques: mechanical, thermal, chemical and durability test.
• Structured, systematic, results-oriented approach.
• Good written and spoken English skills.
• Ability to work in a team.