Summer Intern - Kiwifruit Shipping Quality Optimisation

Kō wai mātou? Who are we?

Zespri is more than simply the world's single-largest marketer of kiwifruit. We like to think of ourselves as fruit on a mission and as rebels with a cause: to help people, communities and the environment around the world thrive through the goodness of kiwifruit. We are proudly the world's largest marketer of kiwifruit, selling kiwifruit in more than 50 countries. We work with around 2,800 New Zealand and 1,500 international growers and post-harvest companies to source the best-quality Zespri Kiwifruit which we supply through our distribution partners to wholesale and retail customers. We are one of New Zealand's best-known international brands, dedicated to creating sustainable long-term value for growers.

He aha te mahi? What's the role?

We're looking for a curious and analytical Summer Intern to join our team and help develop a data-driven approach to optimising how fruit is prioritised and shipped to market. This is a unique opportunity to apply data science, predictive modelling, and optimisation techniques to a real-world supply chain challenge that directly influences fruit quality and customer outcomes. 

You'll use orchard, quality, and inventory data to develop predictive models and optimisation approaches that improve fruit quality outcomes in market. 

Key activities include: 

• Analysing how factors such as fruit maturity, weather, orchard location, and inventory characteristics influence storage defects. 
• Developing predictive models for key fruit quality and defect risks. 
• Exploring how different defect risks can be balanced when prioritising fruit for export. 
• Creating an optimisation algorithm to determine the most effective load-out sequence for shipment. 
• Assessing how load-out decisions impact late-season quality risk and inventory remaining offshore. 

By the end of the internship, you'll deliver insights into the factors driving fruit quality defects, predictive models to assess defect risk, and a recommended approach for optimising shipment prioritisation. You'll also provide analysis and recommendations that help Zespri make more informed, data-driven supply chain decisions to improve fruit quality outcomes throughout the season. 

Program dates: 23 November 2026 – 12 February 2027. Please note: you need to be able to commit for the entire duration of the internship. 

Ko wai koe? Who are you?

The ideal candidate will be a self-starter with a methodical approach, strong critical thinking, and analytical skills in Excel, R or Python.  You will also have background in any of these academic areas: Biosecurity, Horticulture, Data Science and Statistics, Business or Economics. 

 To be eligible to apply you also need to meet the following selection criteria: 

• Studying, or recently completed, an undergraduate or postgraduate degree or qualification at NZQA level 6-10. If study has been completed, your final semester should be less than 12 months ago.  
• Studying or has studied, science, technology, engineering, design or business studies at a New Zealand tertiary education institute.   
• Legally permitted to work in New Zealand. 

He aha e tika ai a Zespri? Why Zespri?

This role will be based in the beautiful Bay of Plenty, a great place to spend the summer. Beaches, waterfalls and the Kaimai ranges all close by for summer day adventures! You will work out of our state of the art corporate office in central Mount Maunganui, have access to daily kiwifruit, free onsite parking, and a flexible work ethos. Please note, you will need to manage your own accommodation for the duration of the internship.  

To apply, please send through your CV and a one-page cover letter. 

Tono mai inaianei! Apply Now! Applications close 4 September 2026. 

At Zespri, we understand the importance of diverse perspectives and experiences, and a fair hiring process is the first step to getting there. We want to attract a diverse range of people and encourage everyone from all backgrounds and walks of life to apply. Please let us know if you need any assistance or reasonable adjustments to take part in the recruitment and selection process by reaching out to our Talent Acquisition team via email at careers@zespri.com.