A hands-on role for someone who wants to design real product, not just portfolio mockups — and ship work that real users interact with.
We're a small team building two products. Skillify runs career workshops and mentorship programs for students — we've reached thousands of students across 220+ schools. Kinship Labs (kinshipcomms.ai) is the AI-powered relationship management platform that powers Skillify and helps other organizations maintain personalized, human connections at scale across SMS and email. You'll design experiences across both.
You'll work directly with the product and engineering teams to design user experiences that are intuitive, efficient, and delightful. This is hands-on work — user research, interface design, prototyping, and collaborating closely with engineers to get designs into production.
Work environment: full-time office setting with a small, collaborative team. You'll have a dedicated workstation, access to professional design tooling (Figma, AI design tools), and direct mentorship from senior team members.
What you'll actually do
UI/UX design (50%)
- Design user interfaces for the Skillify and Kinship web apps using Figma
- Create wireframes, mockups, and high-fidelity prototypes
- Develop and maintain design system components (buttons, forms, tables, modals)
- Design responsive layouts that work across desktop and mobile
- Iterate on designs based on feedback from stakeholders and users
User research & discovery (30%)
- Conduct user interviews to understand pain points and workflows
- Analyze existing product usage to identify UX improvements
- Create user personas and journey maps
- Run usability tests on prototypes and gather feedback
- Synthesize research findings into actionable design recommendations
Design–engineering collaboration (20%)
- Work directly with engineers to ensure designs are implemented accurately
- Create detailed design specs and handoff documentation
- Participate in design reviews and provide feedback on implemented features
- Adjust designs based on technical constraints and feasibility
What you'll learn
By the end of this internship, you'll be able to:
- Design production interfaces — create UI designs that ship to real users, not just portfolio mockups
- Conduct user research — plan and execute research that uncovers genuine user needs and informs design decisions
- Build and maintain design systems — create reusable components that ensure consistency across the product
- Collaborate with engineers — communicate design intent effectively and iterate based on technical feedback
- Use professional design workflows — version control (Figma branching), design critiques, and iterative feedback loops
- Present and defend design decisions — articulate the reasoning behind design choices to stakeholders
What we're looking for
Required
- Currently enrolled in or recently completed a Bachelor's or Master's program in UX Design, Interaction Design, HCI, Graphic Design, or related field
- Portfolio demonstrating UI/UX work (coursework, personal projects, or prior experience)
- Proficiency in Figma or similar design tools
- Understanding of basic UX principles (hierarchy, accessibility, usability heuristics)
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
Nice to have
- Experience conducting user research (interviews, usability testing)
- Familiarity with design systems and component-based design
- Understanding of HTML/CSS fundamentals (helpful for design–engineering collaboration)
- Experience with AI design tools (Midjourney, Galileo, Figma AI, etc.)
- Familiarity with prototyping and interaction design
Tools you'll work with
- Design: Figma (primary), FigJam for collaboration
- Prototyping: Figma prototypes, potentially Framer
- Design system: Custom component library in Figma + Tailwind CSS
- Frontend context: Next.js, React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
- AI tools: access to Midjourney, Claude, and other AI design assistants
- Communication: Slack
Mentorship & path to full-time
You'll get daily check-ins with progress review, weekly 1:1 mentorship sessions, direct access to senior team members for guidance, and design reviews on all your work.
This internship is designed with a potential transition to a full-time role in mind. At the end of the 3-month program, strong performers may be offered a full-time position. Final hiring depends on mutual fit, business needs, and available funding at the time of evaluation.
Sound like you?
If you read this and thought "I was literally born for this" — we want to hear from you.