Automation Capabilities | Living Plants (m/w/d, fulltime, 6 months) / Internship

At IKEA, we believe in creating a better everyday life for the many people – and that includes finding smarter, more sustainable ways to grow and deliver our products. In the Living Plants business, we work closely with growers who bring nature into people’s homes. As part of our journey to improve how we work together, we are exploring how automation can support a more efficient, consistent, and scalable way of growing plants.

Job Description

About the Internship:

This internship is part of an exciting project where we aim to create clear and simple tools to understand and assess the level of automation in our growers’ operations. Together with our global suppliers, engineers, and business teams, you’ll help develop criteria, gather insights, visit growers, and contribute to building a long-term capability roadmap .

The goal? To better understand where we are today, where we want to go, and how we can grow together with our suppliers – in a more automated, sustainable, and future-fit way.

We are also open to support your master thesis with this internship.

What you will be doing?

Project related work – Measuring Automation

• Support the development of clear and practical evaluation criteria for automation in plant production.
• Join interviews and visits with growers to understand their reality, needs, and challenges.
• Help gather and structure findings into usable tools and recommendations .
• Take part in workshops and team sessions to co-create the way forward.
• Support the creation of a long-term vision and capability roadmap for automation in the Living Plants segment.

Daily Support – Supplier Management & Compliance

• Work hands-on with supplier management systems , ensuring data accuracy and documentation quality.
• Support daily administrative tasks connected to compliance, audit tracking, and supplier onboarding .
• Assist in managing information flow between internal systems and external partners.
• Collaborate with colleagues across functions to keep things running smoothly

Qualifications

Who are we looking for?

• A background in Engineering, Agricultural Technology, Horticulture, Supply Chain, or Business Administration or similar.
• A strong interest in automation, system thinking, and continuous improvement mindset.
• A structured and detail-oriented approach to administrative work.
• Good Project Management skills
• Good communication skills – you like asking questions and working together with others.
• An open mind and intercultural awareness
• Fluent in English, both written and spoken
• Bonus: experience with compliance systems, value stream mapping, or technical documentation.

Additional Information

Sounds interesting?

Submit your application online via our recruitment system SmartRecruiters as soon as possible but latest on 20th of August 2025. If you have questions regarding this position, please send an email to the recruiting team via SmartRecruiters and we will come back to you. Please, note that this internship is in Dortmund, Germany and it is expected to start in September 2025. We look forward to receiving your application in English. We only accept applications via our recruitment system.

Our culture and values are based on equal opportunities, and we are happy to consider applications from individuals with disabilities.