User Experience Design Intern

American Electric Power; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 26,000 - 38,000; Part time

Job summary

American Electric Power (AEP) is offering a User Experience Design Intern position within the Information Technology organization. The role focuses on user research, experience strategy, journey mapping, prototyping, and usability testing to improve customer and employee digital experiences.

You will collaborate with UX designers, researchers, product managers, developers, and business partners on enterprise projects across the UX design lifecycle and contribute to web and mobile self-service

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a degree or relevant learning path in UX, HCI, or related field.
• Foundational understanding of user-centered design and design research.
• Curiosity about AI and emerging tech, with interest in trustworthy experiences.
• Strong analytical, communication, collaboration, organization and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently and in teams, manage multiple tasks, and take feedback.

Responsibilities

• Support discovery and research with customers, employees, agents, stakeholders, and subject matter experts.
• Plan and facilitate interviews, workshops, and design thinking activities.
• Synthesize research into themes, insights, and actionable recommendations.
• Create journey maps, personas, empathy maps, task flows, and IA artifacts.
• Create sketches, wireframes, and prototypes for testing ideas and directions.
• Design and evaluate AI-enabled user experiences with consideration for transparency and control.
• Support usability testing through interviews, surveys, card sorting, and prototype testing.
• Identify usability issues and recommend practical experience improvements.
• Collaborate with product, technology, analytics, ops, and business partners to balance needs and feasibility.
• Communicate research findings and design rationale through stories, presentations, and prototypes.

Education

Currently pursuing degree in User Experience related field

Job description

Job Summary

As a User Experience Design Intern, you will join the User Experience team within AEP’s Information Technology organization, creating effective digital experiences for customers, employees, and business partners. You will help make it easier for customers to do business with AEP and support customer-facing agents with clearer, more useful tools and workflows.

Working with UX designers, researchers, product managers, developers, and business partners, you will gain hands‑on experience contributing to meaningful enterprise projects across the user experience design lifecycle. The role emphasizes user research, experience strategy, journey mapping, service design, facilitation, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing to help teams understand user needs and shape effective solutions. Projects may include web and mobile self‑service, employee and agent tools, and responsible AI experiences such as conversational interfaces and intelligent assistance.

Job Description

What You Will Do

• Support discovery and research with customers, employees, agents, stakeholders, and subject matter experts to understand goals, needs, pain points, behaviors, and key tasks.
• Help plan and facilitate interviews, workshops, co‑creation sessions, design thinking activities, and other collaborative exercises.
• Synthesize qualitative and quantitative research into themes, insights, opportunity areas, and recommendations that teams can act on.
• Create or contribute to journey maps, service blueprints, personas, empathy maps, task flows, information architecture, and other experience design artifacts.
• Create sketches, wireframes, and prototypes that help teams explore ideas, evaluate concepts, and communicate experience recommendations.
• Help design and evaluate AI‑enabled user experiences for customers and employees, including customer service agents. Consider how people initiate tasks, review AI‑generated output, understand recommendations, correct errors, provide feedback, and maintain control.
• Support usability and concept testing through methods such as interviews, surveys, card sorting, tree testing, first‑click testing, prototype testing, and moderated or unmoderated studies.
• Help teams identify usability issues, uncover opportunity areas, and recommend practical experience improvements based on research, testing, and observation.
• Collaborate with product, technology, analytics, operations, and business partners to balance user needs, business outcomes, technical feasibility, accessibility, and risk.
• Communicate research findings and design rationale through clear stories, presentations, prototypes, and recommendations.
• Build knowledge of AEP’s customers, operations, business units, and evolving digital ecosystem.
• Work both independently and collaboratively, manage assigned work, seek feedback, and take initiative in support of team and personal development goals.
• Collaborate with your manager and team members, contribute to department initiatives, and recommend practical improvements based on research and observation.

Potential Project Areas

• Customer self‑service experiences that simplify common tasks and make it easier to find information, understand options, and do business with AEP.
• Digital tools and workflows that help customer service agents access relevant information and provide consistent, effective support.
• Conversational and generative AI experiences that assist customers and employees while providing appropriate transparency, safeguards, and paths to human support.
• Web and mobile experiences that improve navigation, task completion, accessibility, and confidence.
• Experience improvements that connect digital, contact‑center, field, and operational touchpoints into a more cohesive journey.

What You Will Learn

• How user‑centered design is applied to complex customer and employee experiences.
• How to select and apply practical research, facilitation, prototyping, and usability testing methods.
• How cross‑functional teams move from an identified need to a tested and implementable experience direction.
• How to design responsible AI interactions that account for trust, explainability, accessibility, privacy, and human oversight.
• How to present insights and recommendations to project teams, leaders, and business partners.
• How enterprise teams connect customer needs, business objectives, technology delivery, and operational realities.
• How to build professional skills and career connections through project‑based work, mentorship, collaboration, and exposure to UX and technology career paths.

Desired Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a degree or relevant learning path in User Experience, Human-Computer Interaction, Interaction Design, Cognitive Science, Psychology, Anthropology, Information Science, Communications, Visual Design, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Foundational understanding of user‑centered design, design research, interaction design, or product development practices.
• Curiosity about AI and emerging technology, with an interest in designing experiences that are useful, understandable, inclusive, and trustworthy.
• Strong analytical, communication, collaboration, organization, and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and in a collaborative team environment, manage multiple tasks, ask thoughtful questions, incorporate feedback, and communicate design decisions.
• Demonstrated initiative, professionalism, and interest in technology, design, and innovation.
• Interest in user research, experience strategy, service design, facilitation, wireframing, and prototyping. While visual design skills are valuable, this role is primarily focused on understanding users, defining opportunities, and shaping experiences through research and collaboration.
• Experience with design, prototyping, research, or collaboration tools is helpful. A portfolio, class project, case study, or other example of problem‑solving is welcome but not required.

Our Approach

We begin with people. We seek to understand the full experience, include diverse perspectives, test ideas early, and improve through evidence and iteration. We value inclusion, collaboration, curiosity, and responsible innovation.

A successful intern will bring a learner mindset, empathy for users, and a willingness to collaborate across disciplines to turn complex challenges into simpler, more useful experiences.

Compensation Data

Compensation Grade:

Co-Op/Intern-001

Compensation Range:

$ - $

The Physical Demand Level for this job is: S – Sedentary Work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally (Occasionally: activity or condition exists up to 1/3 of the time) and/or a negligible amount of force frequently. (Frequently: activity or condition exists from 1/3 to 2/3 of the time) to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally, and all other sedentary criteria are met.

It is hereby reaffirmed that it is the policy of American Electric Power (AEP) to provide Equal Employment Opportunity in all respects of the employer-employee relationship including recruiting, hiring, upgrading and promotion, conditions and privileges of employment, company-sponsored training programs, educational assistance, social and recreational programs, compensation, benefits, transfers, discipline, layoffs and termination of employment to all employees and applicants without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, veteran or military status, disability, genetic information, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law. When required by law, we might record certain information or applicants for employment may be invited to voluntarily disclose protected characteristics.