Internship - Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) Performance Review

Internship – Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) Performance Review

“Gaining hands-on experience in evaluating real-world advanced water reuse systems and contributing to meaningful improvements in our operations makes this internship a unique learning journey.”

The Internship

HEINEKEN operates many Water Reclamation Plants (WRPs) across its global brewing operations. A WRP is a process unit that upgrades treated effluent to service or soft water quality using membrane technology, producing a reclaimed water (permeate) flow and a concentrated brine flow. These facilities are critical to managing our environmental footprint, ensuring regulatory compliance, and supporting our ambition to become a net-zero, water-resilient company by 2030.

As part of this internship, you will support a structured review of our existing WRPs – assessing their original design intent against actual operational performance, identifying common challenges, and helping to build the foundation for an organisation-wide improvement programme.

In this internship, you will have the opportunity to:

• Collaborate with operating companies worldwide to gather operational insights and support knowledge sharing across the network
• Assess the current status of WRPs across HEINEKEN’s operations, identifying potential gaps, common issues, and areas of good practice
• Support the development of an improvement plan and good practices guide for WRP operations, including actionable recommendations for operating companies
• Contribute to a capability and training needs assessment, helping to identify knowledge gaps and propose targeted training solutions for WRP operators and engineers
• Review and provide input to HEINEKEN’s existing internal standards and guidelines on WRP design and operations, suggesting updates based on findings
• Compile operational data from multiple sites into structured overviews or dashboards

During your internship, you will get the opportunity to get to know HEINEKEN as a company, also outside your department. We give you trust and freedom, so you can work like a real entrepreneur. We like to bring the outside world inside, and therefore we embrace new, fresh ideas with enthusiasm, always with the guidance that is right for you.

The department

The Sustainable Production department (part of Global Production, Supply Chain) consists of a multidisciplinary team working on different subjects of sustainability in our operations, including water and energy usage, decarbonisation, wastewater management, and reporting. The team is made up of professionals from different countries, with diverse expertise and academic backgrounds – all united by one goal: to make our operations more sustainable.

The Terms of Employment

• Your starting date is 1 September 2026
• The duration of the internship is 6 months
• It is a practice-oriented internship
• You will be based at our offices at Schiphol Airport
• During your internship, you have the flexibility to work in a hybrid setup
• You will enjoy 2 vacation days per month (based on full-time)
• If you do not have a student OV product, your commuting expenses will be fully reimbursed

The Unique You!

We believe that everyone has unique talents and is, therefore, looking for you!

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree (in progress or recently completed) in Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology, or a related field
• Good understanding of water and wastewater treatment processes, involving membrane systems; knowledge of water reclamation systems is appreciated (e.g., anaerobic digestion, activated sludge, MBR, ACF, etc.)
• Analytical mindset with the ability to assess technical performance data and translate findings into clear insights and recommendations
• Skilled in Excel, PowerPoint, and data analytics; experience with process data tools and Power BI is a plus
• Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively in an international, multicultural environment
• Passion for sustainability and making a tangible impact on operations at a global scale
• Previous experience or coursework related to industrial wastewater treatment or environmental compliance is an advantage

Conditions of HEINEKEN

1. You are enrolled at an educational institution for the entire duration of your internship and can provide proof of enrollment for the current academic year during your onboarding.
2. In the case of non-EU nationality, you must be registered as an intern with a Dutch educational institution.
3. In case of EU nationality, you may also be registered as an intern at educational institutions outside the EU.
4. You reside in the Netherlands for the entire duration of your internship. Please note that HEINEKEN does not provide housing.
5. You are in possession of a valid citizen service number (BSN).