Engineering Intern - Facility Layout and Process Improvement

Engineering Intern - Facility Layout and Process Improvement

Location: Katy, Texas (Energy Corridor)
Summer 2026
Part-time, ~20 hrs/week
Major in Industrial Engineering required
About the opportunity
Our production shop located in Katy, Texas - roughly 15 minutes west of Houston in the Energy Corridor - needs a motivated Industrial Engineer (IE) student to spend part of their summer doing meaningful, hands-on industrial engineering work.
This is a classic IE assignment: walk the floor, analyze our current facility layout, identify inefficiencies, and help us build a roadmap to improve throughput and reduce waste. You will leave with a real deliverable in your portfolio and direct exposure to production operations.
We understand you want to enjoy your summer too. The schedule is flexible - roughly 20 hours per week - and we will work around your availability.
Ideal candidate: An LSU IE junior or senior heading home to the Houston area for the summer who wants to put the skills they learned during Play Layout (IE 4516) to work in a real production environment. No relocation assistance or housing stipend is provided - this role is designed for students already based in the greater Houston area.
What you will do

• Conduct a current-state analysis of our production floor layout using systematic layout planning (SLP) methodology
• Develop flow diagrams, relationship charts, and space requirement analyses
• Identify bottlenecks, wasted motion, and suboptimal material flow patterns
• Propose and document alternative layout configurations with supporting rationale
• Apply basic process improvement techniques (5S, time studies, flow analysis) to targeted work areas
• Present findings and recommendations to shop leadership at the end of the internship

Requirements

• Currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering program
• Preference to have Completed IE 4516 - Plant Layout
• Based in the greater Houston / Katy area for the summer (no relocation support provided)
• Proficiency in AutoCAD, SketchUp, or similar layout/drafting tools (or willingness to learn)
• Familiarity with Excel for data collection and analysis
• Strong observational skills and ability to work independently on the shop floor
• Effective written and verbal communication

Preferred qualifications

• Coursework or project experience in methods engineering, lean manufacturing, or ergonomics
• Prior exposure to a manufacturing or production environment (co-op, job shadow, personal background)
• Familiarity with SLP (Systematic Layout Planning) methodology

Compensation & logistics

• Pay: 20 USD per hour
• Approximately 20 hours per week, flexible scheduling
• Duration: Summer 2026 (start/end dates negotiable)
• Location: Katy, TX - Energy Corridor area, ~15 min west of Houston Metro
• On-site / remote work hybrid position
• No housing stipend or relocation assistance provided