Digital Automation Intern – Order Processing & Contract Review

About The Business: Sumac Precision Engineering Ltd is a Weymouth-based manufacture-to-print business producing precision machined components, fabrications and engineered assemblies for customers in defence, aerospace, renewable energy, medical and scientific markets. Our services include CNC turning and milling, grinding, fabrication and assembly. We are investing in digital technologies to reduce manual administration, strengthen engineering contract review and improve information flow between our Commercial, Engineering, Quality and Production teams.

Overview: Join Sumac Precision Engineering in Weymouth for a hands-on digital automation internship. Explore AI-assisted processing of customer purchase orders and engineering drawings, build a proof of concept for structured order data and digital contract review, and assess integration with Aventa MRP. Work with Engineering, Quality and Commercial teams, produce a practical user guide or training video, and present your solution to senior leadership. Hybrid placement, up to 250 hours; £14.10/hour, paid weekly.

Desirable Skills: Desirable skills and learning opportunities Suitable for students or recent graduates in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, AI or related disciplines. Interest in programming (e.g. Python), databases, APIs, document-processing tools or workflow automation is desirable. Manufacturing experience is not essential. The placement offers experience in project delivery, stakeholder engagement, testing, communication and presentation to senior decision-makers; prior formal presentation experience is not required.

Job Description:

The opportunity Work on a live digital transformation project exploring how AI-assisted document processing and automation can support the handling of customer purchase orders, engineering drawings and technical specifications.

The intern will work with Engineering, Quality and Commercial colleagues to develop a practical proof of concept that prepares structured order information and digital contract review records for authorised staff to check and approve.

Main responsibilities

• Map the current order processing and contract review workflow and identify repetitive activities and risks.
• Explore OCR, AI-assisted data extraction and document classification, including automated filing.
• Investigate extraction of PO numbers, part numbers, revisions, quantities, prices, delivery dates, materials, finishes, testing, certification and other technical requirements.
• Explore a digital contract review and departmental approval workflow, with visibility of missing or conflicting information.
• Assess opportunities and limitations for integration with the existing Aventa MRP system.
• Develop and test a proof-of-concept tool against representative, approved sample documents; record accuracy, limitations and potential time savings.
• Create a user work instruction (written manual or instructional video) that explains how Sumac staff operate the tool, verify outputs and respond to errors.
• Provide progress updates and deliver a final demonstration and presentation to Sumac’s Senior Leadership Team, explaining outcomes and recommendations.

Anticipated outcomes / deliverables

• Current-state and proposed process maps; evaluation of potential technologies.
• Working proof of concept for order data extraction and contract review preparation, with documented test results.
• Aventa MRP integration feasibility assessment and recommendations for next-stage implementation.
• User work instruction as either a manual or training video, usable by staff unfamiliar with the solution.
• Technical handover covering software/dependencies, limitations and future development needs.
• Final presentation and tool demonstration to Sumac’s Senior Leadership Team, with opportunities to practise professional presenting skills.

Engineering and contractual decisions remain with authorised Sumac staff; the tool must flag uncertainty rather than make unsupported technical decisions.

Supervision: Ryan Hope, Compliance Manager (QHSE), with support from Engineering, Quality and Commercial colleagues and the programme’s academic/professional supervisor. Travel support may be available subject to programme arrangements.