User Experience Research Intern, PhD, Summer 2027

Google; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 106,000 - 141,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision insurance

Sick Time: 40 hours/year (Seattle) + 5

Holidays: 13 paid days per year

Job summary

Google is offering an internship in the User Experience field, requiring US location for the duration and a PhD in a related field. The role supports research design, usability studies, and cross-functional collaboration, with opportunities across multiple US campuses including Cambridge, MA.

The position requires English proficiency and availability for a 12-week full-time program outside the regular term.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a PhD in Human Factors, Psychology, HCI, Cognitive Science, CS, Information Science, or related field.
• Internship, work, or project experience with research design using usability studies, contextual inquiry, surveys, etc.

Responsibilities

• Design and conduct independent research using qualitative methods, utilizing quantitative methods when necessary.
• Ensure effective communication of research findings and advocate findings outside of the project team.
• Collect and analyze user behavior through lab studies, field visits, ethnography, surveys, benchmark studies, server logs and online experiments (A/B testing).
• Work cross-functionally with design, engineering, and product management to ensure teams make user-centric, data-driven decisions.

Skills

Research design

Usability studies

Communication

Collaboration

Survey design

Education

PhD program in related field

Job description

Participation in the internship program requires that you are located in the United States for the duration of the internship program.

This internship is intended for students in their penultimate academic year, who are pursuing a PhD degree program in Human Factors, Psychology, Human Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Information Science, or related field.

Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for this internship program.

This role may also be located in our Playa Vista, CA campus.

Applicants in the County of Los Angeles: Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

Applicants in San Francisco: Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Mountain View, CA, USA; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Atlanta, GA, USA; Austin, TX, USA; Boulder, CO, USA; Bellevue, WA, USA; Cambridge, MA, USA; Chicago, IL, USA; Irvine, CA, USA; Kirkland, WA, USA; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Madison, WI, USA; New York, NY, USA; Palo Alto, CA, USA; Portland, OR, USA; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Raleigh, NC, USA; Durham, NC, USA; Reston, VA, USA; Redmond, WA, USA; Redwood City, CA, USA; San Diego, CA, USA; Goleta, CA, USA; San Bruno, CA, USA; Seattle, WA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Jose, CA, USA; Santa Cruz, CA, USA; Sunnyvale, CA, USA; Washington D.C., DC, USA.

Minimum qualifications

• Currently pursuing a PhD degree in Human Factors, Psychology, Human Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Information Science, or related field.
• Internship, work, or project experience with research design utilizing various methods (e.g., usability studies, contextual inquiry, surveys, etc.).

Preferred qualifications

• Currently attending a degree program in the US and available to work full time for 12 weeks outside of university term time.
• In their penultimate academic year or returning to a degree program after completion of the internship.
• Experience integrating user research into product designs and design practices.
• Knowledge of statistics and experimental design.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and collaboration skills.

About The Job

User Experience (UX) is made up of multi-disciplinary teams of Designers, Researchers, Writers, Content Strategists, Program Managers, and Engineers who focus on customer experience. We play an integral part in gathering insights about product user needs, attitudes, and behaviors to inspire and inform design.

Google is and always will be an engineering company. We hire people with a broad set of technical skills who are ready to address some of technology's greatest challenges and make an impact on millions, if not billions, of users. At Google, engineers not only revolutionize search, they routinely work on massive scalability and storage solutions, large-scale applications and entirely new platforms for developers around the world. From Google Ads to Chrome, Android to YouTube, Social to Local, Google engineers are changing the world one technological achievement after another.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $106000 - $141000 (USD) + 0% bonus target

Responsibilities

• Design and conduct independent research using a variety of qualitative research methods, utilizing quantitative methods when necessary.
• Ensure effective communication of research findings and advocate findings outside of the project team.
• Collect and analyze user behavior through lab studies, field visits, ethnography, surveys, benchmark studies, server logs and online experiments (A/B testing).
• Work cross-functionally with design, engineering, and product management to ensure teams make user-centric, data-driven decisions.

Google is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. See also Google's EEO Policy and EEO is the Law. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form.

In accordance with Washington state law, we are highlighting our comprehensive benefits package, which is available to all eligible US based Interns. Benefits for this role include:

• Health, dental, vision insurance
• Sick Time: 40 hours/year (increased to 69 hours/year for Seattle) including 5 discretionary sick days per instance
• Holidays: 13 paid days per year