A Sweet Start: Daniel's Story of Opportunity and Growth within R&D at Mondelēz International

Thursday, July 31, 2025

Can you share your experience as an intern at Mondelēz and how that led to your current role as a Senior Scientist?

My internship at Mondelēz was foundational in gaining perspective on what it means to be a scientist in a workplace setting. I was able to witness first-hand the translation of technical principles into practical solutions in the food industry. A heat exchanger went from being an abstract concept I did calculations on to something physical I could manipulate to observe the impact on Oreo Creme! But even more critically, my internship exposed me to the importance of networking and collaboration. In school I always felt there was a stigma around collaboration -- homework and exams were always so focused on the independent contribution. But when I got to Mondelēz, it was immediately clear that working with others was not only encouraged, it was expected. The biggest change I saw in myself following my internship was a shift in mindset that asking for help and technical collaboration is a sign of strength rather than weakness. And that mindset has been critical in my career journey.

What different experiences have you had working with candy products at Mondelēz? Can you tell us about a particularly challenging or rewarding project?

I have had three different roles within the candy team, so I am fortunate to have experienced a wide diversity of projects. My responsibilities have included process development for innovation and manufacturing capacity growth, seasonal candy product development innovation, and core candy product quality initiatives. A particularly rewarding project to me is the launch of Sour Patch Kids Sour Eggs for the Easter season. Typically for a project that requires both formulation development and a new product shape, we would have both a product developer and a process engineer assigned to support the project. However, given my experiences within both, I was able to lead the project as both roles. Because our teams are so dynamic, it's not always the case that you will support the same project from the day it's created to the product being available on the shelf. So I get a particular sense of pride when I see this product because I supported it in multiple disciplines from start to finish.

How has Mondelēz supported your growth and development from being an intern to a Senior Scientist? What opportunities have you had for training, mentorship, or skill-building?

Mondelēz has a strong culture of development that I have certainly benefitted from. I've had quite a few managers at this point, and all of them have been invested in my career objectives and supporting efforts to gain experiences. I remember when I first started as a full-time employee, about a week into employment my manager asked me what project work I'd like to be assigned to, what skills I wanted to gain, and what my career objectives were. I was overwhelmed by this question at first, it was only my first week! I didn't know what types of projects I liked yet. But what it demonstrated is that I had the opportunity to take an active role in my development journey from the start. I also took advantage multiple times of our Apprenticeship program facilitated by our Mondelēz Multi-gen Alliance ERG. Each year, I matched with an expert who worked in a function different than mine, and these experiences were so valuable as a junior employee to witness an array of experiences and start crafting my image of my personal career journey.

What is your favorite thing about the culture at Mondelēz, and how has it impacted your ability to innovate and collaborate?

I appreciate the value and importance that is assigned to culture at our organization. Each year in the candy team we develop objectives to consider how we are contributing to our department culture. We are allotted time in our resourcing to build and maintain our culture, so it is not seen as an extra-curricular activity for a handful of volunteers, it is a group effort seen as value-added work. One way my current team has built a strong sense of collaboration is implementing some culture moments into our monthly meetings. First, we have an opportunity for team shout-outs. This is our chance to give thanks or kudos to someone on the team who supported us, helped find a solution, covered a meeting while we were on vacation, etc. It's a small but very effective moment to highlight that even though we support separate projects, we are a team. Second, we have a 15 minute 'culture moment' where a team member gets to share with the team any topic related to their personal background, a special interest or hobby, holiday traditions, etc. We find strength through our similarities and differences, and this unleashes such a strong culture of collaboration.

What advice would you give to someone considering an internship or career in product development at Mondelēz, especially in the candy category?

Candy is fun! My advice is to keep that perspective through the challenges and successes. Candy is also a complex product matrix with intricate chemistry, reaction kinetics, etc. Our interns and full-time employees alike are a group of high achievers, and sometimes that means we can get frustrated when things don't come easy-- like the answer to a technical challenge on a project. With time I have learned how important it is to take a step back and talk to myself how I talk to others when they ask what I do for work... "I make Sour Patch Kids for a living!" Suddenly, when you reframe your thinking to remember how awesome that reality is, it unlocks your brain to move beyond the frustration that is creating a mental barrier.