User Experience and Interface Design Intern

About The Role:

Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT), a leading defense technology company, is seeking a User Experience and Interface Design Intern to be part of our Integrated Mission Systems team and based out of our Arlington, VA location.

The User Experience and Interface Design Intern will support efforts to refine design specs, iterate on design systems, and build deliverables to communicate the use cases of our products' design to stakeholders and team members for rapid development. Human Centered Design Thinking, curiosity, empathy, creativity, and design skills will be required to successfully deliver innovative solutions in this dynamic customer space.

• All applicants must be able to obtain/maintain an active Secret U.S. Security Clearance.
• This is an on-site position. Requiring at least 2-3 days in office, based out of our Arlington, VA location.

• Contributes to and augments design system components and design patterns. Documents use cases of components and patterns for consistent future use.
• Updates Figma designs based on stakeholder feedback and discovery.
• Annotates Figma design files with specs to ensure context if provided to stakeholders and SMEs.
• Collaborates on solutions to "How Might We" statements and identifies best practices to leverage. Builds and delivers solutions that meet users' expectations. Gathers data to support recommended solutions and engages appropriate stakeholders before taking action to minimize potential risk.
• Revises prototypes after adjustments to design screens have occurred.
• Creates IDT branded illustrations, pictograms, and iconography as needed.
• Selects and uses the appropriate tools or systems to conduct analyses and build deliverables. Participates in design and delivery reviews to align solutions with mission objectives.
• Seeks input from others when assessing strategic implications. Seeks clarification when connections or implications are unclear.
• Imbues the iterative design process within the agile development cycle and receives feedback and considerations openly.
• Prioritizes goals based on users' needs and expectations and achieves expected (agreed upon) results against the users' needs. Advocates for users' needs when ambiguity persists in discovery and design sessions, and demonstrates an understanding of users' needs.
• Learns from successes and setbacks and applies those lessons in the future designs.

• 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 relevant related field of study, or equivalent full-time professional experience with (at minimum in-progress or on-going) coursework (such as NNG), certification, or accredited bootcamp program.
• Experience with digital design tools such as (but not limited to) Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, Animate, XD). Bonus tools:
  Figma or Sketch, Miro or Mural.
• Completed coursework, has experience with, or studied human design thinking, and/or has knowledge of Heuristics and Design Patterns.
• Experience with or an understanding of HTML and CSS or developing interactive digital products or deliverables.

• Initiative, creativity, reliability, teamwork, and collaboration.
• Portfolio of design or development work; bonus if the work supports interactive products.
• Demonstrations of the Design Thinking process in your work history and coursework. Bonus if candidate is familiar with interaction design, affinity or empathy mapping exercises, or workflow diagrams.
• Can speak to empathy and advocacy in their work examples. Can identify how they derived solutions based on…