Associate Employee Experience Specialist

About the Role

In this role, you'll work in one of our IBM Consulting FutureNow Centers, delivering deep technical and industry expertise to public and private sector clients. You'll help solve real-world business challenges through technology, innovation, and consulting, gaining hands-on experience on client projects with mentorship and career coaching. Artificial Intelligence is integral to how IBM delivers solutions, accelerates development, analyzes data, and automates business processes. You'll also develop consulting, communication, and collaboration skills.

Your Role And Responsibilities

As an Associate Designer at IBM, you'll help organizations reimagine how people interact with products, services, and brands through compelling visual design and human-centered thinking. You'll contribute to creating digital experiences that are intuitive, inclusive, and aligned to real business outcomes. You could support clients across various sectors including healthcare, financial services, retail, automotive, energy, manufacturing, or the public sector. You will gain hands-on project experience, professional and technical mentoring, career coaching, industry-recognized certifications, and exposure to emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence and automation. You will be aligned to a design specialty that best matches business needs, academic background, skills, and career interests.

Work Experiences You Will Contribute To

• Visual Design & Systems Thinking: Create visual assets, UI components, design systems, and brand-aligned experiences for enterprise digital products. Apply typography, color theory, layout, and accessibility best practices to deliver polished, consistent interfaces.
• Human-Centered Research & Synthesis: Support user research activities including interviews, usability testing, journey mapping, and persona development. Translate research findings into actionable design insights that inform product strategy and client recommendations.
• Prototyping & Iteration: Design and iterate on wireframes, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups using industry-standard tools. Present design concepts and rationale to clients and cross-functional teams, incorporating feedback to continuously improve solutions.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work alongside experienced designers, strategists, developers, and client stakeholders within Agile delivery teams. Participate in design reviews, workshops, and co-creation sessions to ensure human-centered design thinking is embedded throughout the project lifecycle.
• AI-Enabled Design Practice: Explore how Artificial Intelligence and automation tools are shaping the future of design, from AI-assisted content generation and personalization to accessible, data-driven experience design at scale.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Currently completing or recently completed a Bachelor's degree in Design, Visual Communication, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, Graphic Design, Digital Media, or a related field.
• Demonstrated ability to apply design principles including typography, color, layout, and visual hierarchy to create clear, compelling, and user-centered digital experiences through coursework, personal projects, internships, or extracurricular work.
• Experience working with design and prototyping tools such as Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, or similar platforms through academic projects, internships, or self-directed learning.
• Foundational understanding of user experience (UX) design principles, human-centered design methodologies, and how design decisions impact the end-user experience.
• Strong visual communication and storytelling skills — ability to present design concepts clearly and compellingly to both peers and stakeholders.
• Strong analytical thinking, collaborative mindset, and curiosity to solve complex problems at the intersection of human behavior, technology, and business strategy.
• Experience gained through academic projects, internships, design competitions, student organizations, freelance work, or personal creative projects that demonstrate craft and design thinking.
• We're looking for individuals with a strong foundation, a growth mindset, and a desire to learn and make an impact.

Preferred Qualifications

• Exposure to enterprise design systems, accessibility standards (WCAG), or inclusive design principles through coursework, personal projects, or internship experience.
• Familiarity with front-end concepts (HTML/CSS basics) and how design decisions translate into technical implementation, supporting stronger collaboration with development teams.
• Interest in Artificial Intelligence, emerging design technologies, and how AI tools can enhance creativity, personalization, and experience design at scale.