User Experience and Interface Design Intern

About the Role

Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT) is seeking a User Experience and Interface Design Intern for their Integrated Mission Systems team in Mount Laurel, NJ. This role will support the refinement of design specs, iteration on design systems, and the creation of deliverables to communicate product design use cases to stakeholders and team members for rapid development. Human Centered Design Thinking, curiosity, empathy, creativity, and design skills are required.

Clearance & Location Requirements

• Ability to obtain/maintain an active Secret U.S. Security Clearance.
• This is an on-site position requiring at least 2-3 days in office at the Mount Laurel, NJ location.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to and augment design system components and design patterns. Document use cases of components and patterns for consistent future use.
• Update Figma designs based on stakeholder feedback and discovery.
• Annotate Figma design files with specs for context.
• Collaborate on solutions to "How Might We" statements and identify best practices. Build and deliver solutions that meet user expectations.
• Gather data to support recommended solutions and engage stakeholders before action to minimize risk.
• Revise prototypes after design screen adjustments.
• Create IDT branded illustrations, pictograms, and iconography.
• Select and use appropriate tools or systems for analyses and deliverable building.
• Participate in design and delivery reviews to align solutions with mission objectives.
• Seek input from others when assessing strategic implications.
• Imbue the iterative design process within the agile development cycle. Receive feedback and considerations openly.
• Prioritize goals based on users’ needs and expectations. Advocate for users’ needs and demonstrate an understanding of user needs.
• Learn from successes and setbacks and apply lessons to future designs.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• Currently enrolled in an undergraduate or post-graduate degree program with a major or minor in HCI, Interaction Design, Fine, Visual, or Media Arts, Graphic Design or a relevant related field of study, or equivalent professional experience with coursework/certification in a relevant program.
• Experience with digital design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, Animate, XD).
• Familiarity with bonus tools: Figma, Sketch, Miro, or Mural.
• Completed coursework, experience with, or knowledge of human design thinking, and/or Heuristics and Design Patterns.
• Experience with or understanding of HTML and CSS or developing interactive digital products.

What Makes You Stand Out

• Initiative, creativity, reliability, teamwork, and collaboration.
• Portfolio of design or development work, preferably supporting interactive products.
• Demonstrations of the Design Thinking process in work history and coursework.
• Familiarity with interaction design, affinity or empathy mapping exercises, or workflow diagrams.
• Ability to speak to empathy and advocacy in work examples.
• Ability to identify how solutions were derived based on external data.
• Willingness to learn and curiosity about supporting team members.
• Nice to have: Experience with UI tools such as Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD.
• Nice to have: Experience or knowledge of Agile methodologies, especially Lean.
• Familiarity with industry UX/I publications and resources.

Compensation

$28.00 - $34.00 / hour