Early careers

If you're studying at college or university, an internship or placement is the perfect way to gain real-world experience and discover what you’re passionate about - before you graduate. We offer a variety of opportunities, from summer internships to year-in-industry placements, designed to help you launch your career journey.

For school and college leavers, our Apprenticeship programs provide an exciting chance to dive into the world of engineering while earning a formal qualification, all with the support of experienced mentors.

Ready to see what it's like? Explore our current vacancies below or check out the videos to meet some of our Early Careers team and hear their stories.

Meet our Year in Industry people

Hear from Carolyn who started her journey with us as a Year in Industry and returned as a Graduate Data Scientist:

"My experience during my Year in Industry as an Assistant Data Scientist was incredibly positive, involving engaging projects and a supportive team that has facilitated my learning well beyond my university education. I had the opportunity to contribute to meaningful work, such as the Adaptive Diffraction analysis now seen in the Mastersizer 3000+. With a background in the physical sciences, it was rewarding to work for a company that specializes in scientific instrumentation, inspiring me to pursue a career in the field and return as a Graduate Data Scientist. Within my role, I contribute to the enhancement of analysis methods to help provide greater insight into the data from our instruments. I encourage anyone considering applying for one of the YII or graduate roles to pursue it".

At Malvern Panalytical, we believe in learning by doing. That’s why we partner with local schools in Malvern, England to offer work experience placements that give students a real insight into our business. Whether you’re curious about technology, business, or engineering, our placements help you develop new skills, build confidence, and see what it’s like to work on real projects in a professional environment. It’s the perfect stepping stone to kick-start your future career and find out where your interests can take you.

We also partner with Young Professionals (UK and Ireland), a leading student network supporting thousands of school students to accelerate their careers in apprenticeships and work experience programs.

Malvern Panalytical, part of the Spectris Group, is a global leader in the analytics of material and life sciences. The Spectris Group employs around 7,500 people globally who share the same vision: to make the world cleaner, healthier and more productive.

Our people are empowered to think big and think differently. We are constantly striving to find new ways to grow our business and stay ahead of the competition in an increasingly complex and fast-changing world.

Our customers are at the center of all we do. Find out how we partner with them to make their solutions possible through the power of our precision measurements, expertise, trusted data, and insights.

Supported by a healthy, high-performance culture that is shaped by our values – Own It, Aim High and Be True - we collaborate to improve how we work together and how we create value for our customers.

Search for all current early career opportunities

UK

UK opportunities opening soon for 2025

Netherlands

Netherlands opportunities opening soon for 2025

Supporting you through your career

At Malvern Panalytical, we prize everyone’s differences and play to everybody’s strengths, it’s part of our core value ‘Be true’. We are on a journey focused on supporting and celebrating everyone’s unique perspectives.

Here are a few of our recent events and initiatives to help develop our STEM diversity program, with the help of our colleagues and partner organizations:

April 2024: Do you want to be an engineer and explore a career in science?

In April 2024, the Spectris Group hosted an event with Young Professionals. We were joined by over 700 students online, where we explored different routes into engineering careers across Malvern Panalytical and our Spectris partner organizations, Servomex and HBK. The students watched a live laboratory tour, learned about Cybersecurity, received tips on applying and interviewing for early careers vacancies, and took a deep dive into software engineering - and much more!

Women's Engineering Society 

Malvern Panalytical are members of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) and took part in the Lottie Tour. WES Lottie Tour is an annual campaign that takes 'Lottie' to many different locations accompanying lots of different engineering friends who show Lottie the work they do in engineering and related careers. WES Lottie Tour has a number of audiences - its primary aim is for Lottie to inspire and encourage the next generation to think of a career in engineering and STEM subjects.

The Spectris Foundation is a UK-registered charity with global reach. Our purpose is to support education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), all over the world. We believe that every person should have an equal right to quality education and, by working with like-minded partners, we remove barriers and create opportunities for every student to fulfil their potential. Find out more about the Foundation here: 

Spectris Foundation

Hear from Lara and Natalie who started their early careers with Malvern Panalytical, and are continuing to grow their future with us:

Lara: Project Lead – Process Automated Solutions (PAS)

At the age of 19, I joined Malvern Panalytical on a four-year Engineering Apprenticeship where I gained experience in our Operations, Process Automated Solutions (PAS), Manufacturing Engineering, Research and Development and Sustaining departments. Simultaneously, I completed a HNC (Higher National Certificate) in Mechanical Engineering, which helped me develop the practical and theoretical knowledge that I applied to my day-to-day work. 

After completing my apprenticeship, I continued my career with Malvern Panalytical as a Junior Mechanical Engineer. In this role, I designed and tested new products whilst using agile planning and Lean Six Sigma tools. I was also given the opportunity to study a Batchelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, further developing my skillset. 

Now I am a Project Lead in PAS, where I manage and plan customer projects which are often bespoke. I thoroughly enjoy working in the PAS department -, not only do projects keep me on my toes with their quick turnover, but learning about how our technology is applied is also very interesting. It is a joy working with such an honest and supportive team. 

Natalie: Senior Project Manager - R&D

My career at Malvern Panalytical began taking a Year in Industry as part of my Undergraduate degree. My role as a Junior Development Scientist allowed me to see research and development in action, to see my innovative ideas be developed and built into world-leading products and engage with experts in my field both as colleagues and mentors. One aspect I particularly enjoyed during my first role at Malvern Panalytical was seeing the cross functional team rapidly respond to customer issues; the co-ordination of this effort to resolution is what originally sparked my interest in Project Management as a future career.

I was given a fantastic opportunity to return to Malvern Panalytical on completion of my degree as a Graduate Project Co-ordinator, the business eagerly supported me in exploring an entirely different career path. Since taking this role four years ago, I have been able to study for multiple qualifications with the Association of Project Management to enhance my understanding of the role, and received training in Leadership and Management to promote future career progression.

I am now a Senior Project Manager responsible for our portfolio of New Value Innovation Projects that are delivered by our Almelo research and development facility. This has allowed me to broaden my experience in a global role and take on a team of Project Managers based in the Netherlands. Each day in my job I feel able to influence my colleagues to operate as a highly functioning team, whilst also having valuable input to business processes and excitingly, flagship products. Project Management allows me to remain within the Scientific industry in which I qualified, continue to use critical thinking and data analysis techniques but also keep focus on our people in a fast-paced environment.