Design Thinking Jobs in Illinois (NOW HIRING)

Introduction

Launch your career like an IBMer

Every IBMer has a story. For many, it started with an internship.

As an IBM intern, you won't just gain experience - you'll start thinking, working, and growing like an IBMer. From day one, you'll contribute to real client projects across diverse industries, working alongside experienced IBMers who are invested in your success. You'll be challenged, supported, and inspired, often all in the same day. You'll develop technical expertise and consulting skills in a culture built on continuous learning, mentorship, and coaching. High-performing interns have a clear pathway into IBM's Associate Program, launching careers at one of the world's most innovative technology and consulting companies.

To give yourself the best opportunity for success, we advise applying only to roles that align with your skills and experience, rather than applying broadly across all entry-level positions. You'll receive a status update email for each application, so be sure to check your IBM Careers account regularly - it's the best way to get a centralized view of which roles you have active applications against.

Your role and responsibilities

As an Intern Designer at IBM, you'll focus on customer and employee strategies that explore opportunities to improve digital innovation, addressing user needs and designing world-class digital experiences. You'll support to uncover user and business requirements in the context of the technical landscape through applying User Experience, Design Thinking, and Information Architecture methods.

Work experiences you could be exposed to:

• Creative Design: Dive into hands-on design work from crafting wireframes and visual interfaces to creating prototypes and annotating wire frames collaborate closely with stakeholders to bring new design visions to life.
• User Centric Research: Support user research using enterprise design thinking and gain hands-on experience to direct user research opportunities, contributing to a deeper understanding of user needs.
• Design Thinking Workshops: Engage in dynamic design workshops with multiple stakeholders synthesizing their input to articulate conceptual ideas and design rationale for digital experiences.
• Visual Design Innovator: Assisting visual design tasks, creating mockups and prototypes from sketches. Collaborate on dynamic human-centered digital solutions aligned with design standards while also contributing to storyboards, impactful presentations, graphics, data visualizations, and other design artifacts for client meetings or product development. Participating in client interactions related to design thinking workshops amplifying your design impact.

Leaders are expected to spend time with their teams and clients and therefore are generally expected to be in the workplace a minimum of three days a week, subject to business needs.

Required education

High School Diploma/GED

Preferred education

Bachelor's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

• Currently pursuing a university degree with a track-record of academic success (Preferred majors: UX design or a related field).
• Strong Interpersonal skills that enhance collaboration and relationship building, while also managing dynamic workloads in an agile environment.
• Demonstrate leadership experience and ability to communicate effectively through active listening; while also be willing to adapt and have a readiness to take ownership of tasks and challenges.
• Familiarity with storytelling techniques, capable of communicating design approaches and simplifying complex information though clear communications (verbal and visual).
• Willingness to travel up to 100%.

Preferred technical and professional experience

• University-based design experience with a portfolio representing design artifacts and design process.
• Demonstrates active listening skills with the ability to delivery challenging messages in a positive manner.
• Possesses empathy for users and their needs, humility to recognize the limits of assumptions, and boldness in the conception of solutions.

ABOUT BUSINESS UNIT

IBM Consulting is IBM's consulting and global professional services business, with market leading capabilities in business and technology transformation. With deep expertise in many industries, we offer strategy, experience, technology, and operations services to many of the most innovative and valuable companies in the world. Our people are focused on accelerating our clients' businesses through the power of collaboration. We believe in the power of technology responsibly used to help people, partners and the planet.

YOUR LIFE @ IBM

In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.

Being an IBMer means you'll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you'll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.

Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.

Are you ready to be an IBMer?

ABOUT IBM

IBM's greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.

Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we're also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 500 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.

At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it's time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

IBM is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

Supplemental 1 employees may be eligible for up to 8 paid holidays, minimum of 56 hours paid sick time and the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan. IBM offers paid family medical leave and disability benefits to eligible employees where required by applicable law.

This position was posted on the date cited in the key job details section and is anticipated to remain posted for 15 days from this date or less if not needed to fill the role.

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.

IBM will not be providing visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Therefore, in order to be considered for this position, you must have the ability to work without a need for current or future visa sponsorship.

The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full-time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job-related skills, experience and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start working during the calendar year.

Job Title

Designer Intern 2027

Date posted

13-Aug-2026

Job ID

128675

City / Township / Village

Chicago

State / Province

Illinois

Country

United States

Work arrangement

Onsite

Area of work

Design & UX

Employment type

Co-Op (Fixed Term)

Contract type

Internship

Projected Minimum Salary per year

55,620.00

Projected Maximum Salary per year

101,970.00

Position type

Internship

Travel required

Up to 100% or 5 days a week (home on weekends - based on project requirements)

Company

(0147) International Business Machines Corporation

Shift

General (daytime)

Is this role a commissionable/sales incentive based position?

No