eXplore Digital Innovation trainee

Are you interested in IT, data, automation, or AI - and want to see how these areas are applied in a real manufacturing environment?

The eXplore Graduate Program is a premium one-year program for early-career professionals who have graduated no more than two years ago. Its goal is to provide you with a comprehensive overview of how a global production company operates. As part of this program, we are looking for a candidate who is interested in digital transformation and innovation and who, upon completing the program, could potentially continue their career on our digital innovation team.

About the program

eXplore is a structured graduate program combining hands-on experience, project work, and training. You will gain insight into manufacturing, engineering, and business processes, while building a network across the company.

Program structure

• Home Plant Phase I – Onboarding & Shopfloor Experience

During the first months, you will get familiar with the main functions of Manufacturing & Engineering and daily operations at the plant. This includes hands-on experience in production and an understanding of how high- quality tire products are made

• Home Plant Phase II – First Projects & International Exposure

In the following phase, you will take on your first local projects and deepen your understanding of your role. You will also join the Trainee Meeting Week in Hanover, where you will meet other trainees and work together on your first global assignment.

• Central Phase – Group Projects & Networking (Hanover)

During this phase, you will spend several months in Hanover working with trainees from different locations worldwide. You will collaborate on global and strategic projects, take part in trainings, and build your international network. This phase also includes exposure to other parts of the business, such as Marketing & Sales, as well as visits to different Continental locations.

After completing the program, you move into your first full-time role at the home plant.

Your potential focus

During the program, you may get involved in projects related to digitalization in manufacturing, for example:

• development of internal tools or applications
• data analysis and reporting
• automation and process optimisation
• AI or machine vision use cases
• support with implementation of solutions in real operations

You will also get exposure to broader manufacturing and business topics, including cross-functional collaboration and selected business-facing activities (e.g. Marketing & Sales overview or customer interaction).

The exact focus will depend on your background and interests.

What we are looking for

• University degree (or final year of study) in IT, engineering, data, or a related field
• Interest in digital technologies and their practical application
• Willingness to learn and work across different areas
• Ability to communicate and collaborate in a team
• Good knowledge of English
• Fluent in Czech or Slovak language

What can be an advantage

The role is open to different profiles, so experience in any of the following areas is welcome but not required:

• machine learning, AI or computer vision
• automation tools (e.g. Power Platform, UiPath)
• programming (e.g. PHP, Drupal, Python or similar)
• general IT knowledge (APIs, Git, cloud, basic DevOps concepts)
• data work (SQL, reporting, analytics tools)

What you will gain

• broad understanding of a manufacturing company and its processes
• experience across IT, production, and business functions
• exposure to modern technologies and real use cases
• opportunity to shape your future direction after the program
• network of contacts both locally and internationally

About the team

The Digital Innovation team connects IT, data, and engineering across the entire plant, with overlap into central initiatives. We work on a wide range of topics - from production and shopfloor solutions to administrative and business processes. The goal is to move the plant to the next level of digitalization by delivering practical solutions that are actually used in daily operations.

If you are looking for a role where you can explore different areas and then grow into a more specialised position in IT or Digital innovation, we would be interested to hear from you.