Internship - Human Centered Design

Help multidisciplinary teams understand complex problems, uncover what people truly need, and turn those insights into concepts that can improve real-world systems.

Do you …

• get energized by working with teams to tackle difficult challenges and rapidly deliver human-centered solutions?
• consider yourself both a right-brained and left-brained thinker with an appreciation for art and science?
• have a growing understanding of design thinking or innovation methods and techniques, and are looking to learn more about different processes and approaches?
• enjoy stepping into ambiguous problems with curiosity, learning from others, and figuring out the next best step?

If so, we’re looking for someone like you to join our team for the summer at APL.

The Operations & Analysis Group is seeking an intern to be a member of multi-disciplinary teams in the discovery, design and development of innovative solutions for complex problems to improve the lives of our end-users. Our teams use human-centered design approaches to tackle complex challenges in strategic planning, process improvement, product design, and service delivery for the DoW. You’ll be joining our team of problem solvers to research and analyze the challenge space, and conceptualize and develop high-impact concepts.

• Work with cross-functional teams to develop critical concepts for our sponsors, bringing your perspective while actively building on the ideas of others
• Immerse in the problem space through interviews, observations, and research to understand user needs, pain points, and context with curiosity and empathy
• Synthesize qualitative and quantitative data to uncover patterns, insights, and opportunity areas
• Contribute to design workshops and co-creation sessions with users, stakeholders, and technical experts
• Build low-fidelity prototypes and experiments to test ideas with users, seek feedback early, and iterate based on what you learn

You meet our minimum qualifications for the job if you...

• Are pursuing a degree in Human-Centered Design, Design Thinking, Product Design, Human Systems Engineering, Human Factors Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering or Design, Organizational Behavior, Public Policy, Cognitive Science, Psychology, Anthropology, User Experience Design, Business Administration or a related field with a minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale
• Enjoy working on teams and feel comfortable facilitating collaboration across disciplines. Have a foundational understanding (or burning curiosity) around methods like human-centered design, systems thinking, product design, or service design
• Have a passion for building team culture, driving innovation, and building/executing strategic initiatives
• Love solving hard problems through iteration, learning, and creativity
• Possess excellent oral and written communication skills
• Are able to obtain Interim Secret level security clearance by your start date and can ultimately obtain Secret level clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

• Hold an Active Secret clearance or above
• Hold a Bachelors Degree or higher in any of the disciplines listed above (or an equivalent field)
• Have experience or coursework in human-centered design methodologies such as human-centered design, design thinking, agile, lean six sigma, lean start up, and user-centered design
• Have familiarity with collaboration methodologies from industry (e.g. Google Sprint, LUMA, etc.)
• Are confident using Miro, Figma, or other collaborative or design tools
• Have experience with ethnographic research and synthesis
• Have experience with rapid prototyping and user testing

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) brings world-class expertise to our nation’s most critical defense, security, space and science challenges. While we are dedicated to solving complex challenges and pioneering new technologies, what makes us truly outstanding is our…