Description

Ready to own your future? At Scottish Water, our Summer Internship programme empowers you to gain hands-on experience, tackle real challenges, and contribute to shaping Scotland’s future. This isn’t just a summer job – it’s an opportunity to make a real impact. As part of our team, you’ll play a key role in delivering essential services and infrastructure that help Scotland flourish every day.

You’ll be joining us at a fascinating time, as we transform into a more agile, innovative organisation that delivers outstanding service, delivers great value for money, and works in an environmentally sustainable way that goes beyond Net Zero.

Graduating in 2026? Kickstart your career with a 12-week summer placement and start building your future today.

What you’ll do

Science skills within the water sector are becoming increasingly significant as the world confronts the interlinked threats of climate change, resource sustainability, pollution and population growth.

Scottish Water’s business is inextricably linked to these challenges. We need scientific skills and capabilities to deliver advances in treatment approaches, to address future water and wastewater compliance issues, support sustainable economic growth and deliver a resilient and good value service for our customers.

You’ll get the opportunity to see first-hand how our busy analytical laboratories run day-to-day as our team of 300 samplers, scientists and support staff analyse their way through an average of one test every minute. You’ll be able to apply your university studies to a live operational laboratory environment, whilst learning from our on-site scientists.

Our chemistry laboratories are accredited to ISO17025 and use a variety of analytical methods including different types of chromatography, inductively coupled plasma, mass spectrometry, radiochemical and other general chemistry techniques.

This is a paid summer internship with an hourly rate of £12.60, aligned with the Real Living Wage. This is typically a full-time position (35 hours), but we’re open to discussing flexible working patterns where possible to suit your needs. For a 35-hour week, the equivalent annual salary would be around £23,020, pro-rated for the length of the internship.

What you’ll need  

You’ll be in the penultimate year of university, or maybe about to do a Masters. Either way, you’ll be on course for at least a 2:2 degree. And it goes without saying that you will be available for the full placement time: 12 weeks.

You will be studying towards a degree in Chemistry or another relevant scientific discipline. You will also have excellent data management skills. To get the most from the programme, you’ll be ready to engage fully in the development opportunities that are available to you.

In terms of essential requirements? That’s it.  

But here’s the thing: We get thousands of applications for our internships each year. What makes the best candidates stand out? 

 

Here are a few things we love to see:  

  • CVs that tell us more than what grades you earned over the years. Show us what you’ve learned. What you love. What your aspirations are. 
  • Cover letters that tell us why you’re interested in Scottish Water (and our Chemistry Internship in particular). 
  • People who use their application to demonstrate that they are Bold, Responsible, Inspiring and Caring.   

What happens next?  

The closing date for applications is midnight on Sunday 9th of February. Please provide a Cover Letter (max. 500 words), alongside your CV – multiple attachments can be uploaded at the application stage.

If you’re shortlisted, final face-to-face interviews will happen during February. Where you can give us a good grilling too.  

If you accept a place on the programme, you’ll go through some pre-employment screening during the Spring, including a criminal record check.  

All our new Interns will start together at the beginning of June for a 12-week Summer Internship, finishing at the end of August. You’ll learn more about the organisation, meet our leaders, visit some of our operational sites, start making friends, and have a lot of fun.