- UK careers
- Students and graduates
- Undergraduate placements
- Manufacturing
Global Manufacturing and Supply (includes opportunities in Engineering and Science)
Introduction
What do we do?
Each year GSK spends £3 billion on the production of our products within a global network of 85 sites in 37 countries. As a result our operations are hugely complex and high-tech, delivering 1200 different branded products to 140 markets worldwide.
Our mission within GMS (Global Manufacturing and Supply) is to become a high performance organisation which supports the commercial ambitions of GSK by demonstrating world-class excellence in people, processes, and technology.
Who do we want?
GlaxoSmithKline is looking for fresh new talent to join the organisation to help us grow our business and produce our technical experts of the future.
Engineering
Automation/Controls Engineer
An Industrial placement as a Controls Engineer would provide the opportunity to be part of a multi discipline project team, to deliver new plant and equipment at one of GSK’s manufacturing sites.
The role will be to work with suppliers on the design and specification of the control system operating the new plant or equipment.
They will then carry out commissioning and validation of this control system to ensure it meets the needs of the business operation. The size and scope of the work will increase during the year.
Suggested applicable course types:
Electronic Engineering, Electronic/Electrical Engineering, Automation Engineering, Controls Engineering, Computer Systems Engineering, Control Systems Engineering, Systems Engineering, Instrumentation Engineering, Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Process Systems Engineering or similar
Chemical Engineering
A year in industry as a Chemical Engineer would provide the opportunity to work at one of GSK’s manufacturing sites. The role would include:
- Supporting sterile manufacturing processes, including bulk manufacture and secondary filling.
- Working with Chemists, Microbiologists and other engineers to problem solve and maintain regulatory compliance.
- Contributing to the processing related knowledge of Process Engineers in the areas of process innovation, development, scale-up and new product transfer to the commercial manufacturing sites.
- Providing process development and scale-up support as part of the Process Engineering team for new semi-solid and liquid products. Main focus on oral healthcare projects, primarily toothpastes.
Suggested applicable course types:
Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Bio Processing Engineering, Bio Chemical Engineering, or Environmental Chemical Engineering, Materials Science or equivalent
(Combined degrees are acceptable)
Electrical Engineering
Engineering, energy management and maintenance sit at the heart of GSK’s business operations. Throughout the year under supervision, students will take part in numerous tasks that usually play a part of a much larger project, with the size and scope of the work increasing during the year dependent upon performance and business need.
- Responsible for providing support on site regarding all electrical matters - safety, policies, standards, maintenance, and electrical energy management.
- Provides specialist technical support, mainly to projects, plant modifications, EHS and maintenance operations.
- Provide guidance on electrical matters and maintain safe operating and maintenance standards to ensure high plant availability.
- Ensures the availability of electricity by the safe design, control, operation and maintenance of the electrical distribution system.
- Ensures that Plant Modifications are executed in the correct manner.
- Implement changes identified through the value driven maintenance programme.
Suggested applicable course types:
Electronic/Electrical Engineering, Integrated Engineering, Innovation or Manufacturing Engineering, Engineering Management.
Mechanical Engineering
An Industrial placement year as a Mechanical/Project Engineer provides the opportunity to be part of a multi discipline project team that delivers new plant and equipment at one of GSK’s manufacturing sites.
The role will be to work with suppliers on the design and specification of the plant or equipment and then carry out commissioning and validation to ensure it meets the needs of the business operation.
Under the supervision of a mentor the student will be given responsibility for discrete work packages of the type mentioned above usually as part of larger overall projects. The size and scope of the work will increase during the year.
Suggested applicable course types:
Mechanical Engineering, Biomechanical Engineering, Building Engineering, Combined Engineering Studies, Design Engineering, Energy Engineering, General Engineering, Management Engineering, Plant Engineering, Process Engineering, Product Engineering, Production Engineering, Project Engineering, Mechatronic Engineering, Innovation and Engineering Design, Manufacturing Engineering, Maintenance Engineering
Science
Analytical Chemistry
An Industrial placement in Analytical Chemistry would involve:
- Working within teams supporting development or release of pharmaceutical products
- Chemical analysis using a range of chromatographic (hplc, gc, etc) and spectroscopic techniques
- Physical testing of materials including particle size analysis
Suggested applicable course types:
Chemical or Pharmaceutical Sciences
Microbiologist
An Industrial placement year with GSK in the discipline of Microbiology will involve either a laboratory or non-laboratory based role.
Placements are usually laboratory based roles in Quality Assurance (QA). These roles can involve any or all of the following:
- Routine testing to confirm product is of the required standard
- Project work
- Production support
- Method/equipment validation
Opportunities outside the QA laboratory include roles in:
- Production
- Development
- Batch release
Each of these roles would provide the opportunity to perform routine or non-routine work. These roles are more focused on problem solving, investigation and validation of equipment/processes.
All placements are within areas that integral to GSK’s core business in terms of producing products that are fit for purpose.
Suggested applicable courses:
Microbiology, Applied Microbiology, Applied Biology, Medical Microbiology, Microbiology Biochemistry, Microbiology Biotechnology, Microbiology Science, Molecular Microbiology, Virology, Biomedical Science, Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Biology, Forensic Biology.
Technical Process Support
Production of medicines for human use involves a number of stages where raw materials are converted into a finished product according to strict quality regulations.
A year in Technical Support would involve working with the Technical Process Support role at Barnard Castle. The Technical Process Support team is within the Topicals area where creams and ointments are manufactured, filled and packaged.
The Process Support Team is responsible for/involved in a wide range of activities within the area including:
- Introduction and validation of new equipment
- Processes and products
- Improvement activities including waste reduction, line efficiencies and increased productivity
- Development activities and trial work for equipment
- Data analysis
The role interacts with a number of different departments around the site which will give you an excellent grounding in the interfaces that make up a major pharmaceutical company.
Suggested applicable course types:
Medicinal chemistry, Pharmacy, Pharmacology, any of the following engineering (Chemical, Mechanical production operations management)
