Year-Round Intern - CX

The Options Clearing Corporation; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 28,000 - 41,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work environment

Tuition Reimbursement

Student Loan Repayment Assistance

Technology Stipend

Generous PTO and Parental leave

401k Employer Match

Job summary

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is seeking a Year-round Intern to join the ETS UX/CX team in Chicago. You will support user research, journey mapping, listening post maintenance, and dashboard updates while gaining hands-on experience in enterprise UX research and design.

The program is a 12-month, hybrid internship with up to 20 hours per week during the school year and up to 40 hours in the summer, capped at 1,000 hours.

Qualifications

• Rising senior or 2nd-year graduate student graduating in 2027 or 2028.
• Majors in HCI, UX Design, Information Science, Psychology, Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
• Experience with UX research, design tools, and collaborative projects.

Responsibilities

• Assist planning and conducting user interviews and surveys with internal employees.
• Support journey mapping and service blueprint workshops.
• Maintain listening posts and monitor feedback instruments.
• Help update CX dashboards and prepare summaries for review.
• Contribute to UX research activities including usability testing and design feedback sessions.
• Maintain Jira backlog items and document meeting outcomes.

Skills

Empathy-based research

Organizational skills

Collaborative working style

Intellectual curiosity

Education

Rising senior / 2nd-year graduate student

Tools

Miro

Mural

FigJam

Figma

Excel/Google Sheets

Microsoft Forms

Qualtrics

SurveyMonkey

Hotjar

Optimal Workshop

Jira

Trello

Asana

PowerPoint

Job description

Location

Location: Chicago

Internship type

Internship type: Year-round intern (1,000 hours max, January 2027-December 2027)

Hybrid Work Program

OCC operates under a Hybrid Work Program which, absent an approved exception, requires employees to work from an OCC office at least 3 days per week. To maximize in-person collaboration, Tuesday and Wednesday are considered anchor days, and all employees are expected to work in the office both days. Employees meeting performance expectations are generally permitted to select 2 other days per week to work remotely if desired. When working remotely, employees are generally expected to work from the state in which they reside, absent an exception approved by Human Resources. Additionally, OCC generally does not permit employees to work while traveling internationally.

Some of these components include:

• Hybrid work environment, up to 2 days per week of remote work
• Tuition Reimbursement to support your continued education
• Student Loan Repayment Assistance
• Technology Stipend allowing you to use the device of your choice to connect to our network while working remotely
• Generous PTO and Parental leave
• 401k Employer Match

About OCC

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, OCC is dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. OCC has more than 100 clearing members and provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 21 exchanges and trading platforms. OCC also provides free and engaging educational resources about the benefits and risks of options through its Options Industry Council (OIC). OCC is building a culture that empowers continued learning, authentic innovation, and constant creativity.

About the Internship Program

OCC is looking for interns who are eager to learn, humble enough to ask questions, and ready to think critically about complex problems. The OCC Internship Program equips students with the real-world skills needed to transition successfully into a career in financial services. As an intern, you will contribute to meaningful projects, applying your skills and knowledge to real challenges facing the business. Your time with us is a real opportunity to make a genuine impact on the future of OCC! OCC's Year-Round Internship Program is a 12-month opportunity running from January through December and is open to both undergraduate and graduate students who are actively enrolled at a college or university. Interns work up to 20 hours per week during the school year and up to 40 hours per week during the summer, subject to a 1,000-hour cap. The role is based in a hybrid work environment, and overtime is not permitted.

Team & Role

Within ETS, the UI/UX and CX practice is responsible for understanding and improving the internal employee experience with technology: conducting user research, facilitating journey mapping and service design, and driving improvements grounded in data and direct employee feedback. Within Ovation, the team manages research and UX Design for the internal/external facing system. This intern will contribute alongside the CX Strategist and UX Strategist/Research/Design. They will support active research initiatives, help build and maintain listening post infrastructure, assist with journey mapping and service blueprint workshops, and contribute to UX research and design activities that shape how users experience internal and external technology services. This is a hands-on role with real ownership, not observational shadowing.

Job Summary & Responsibilities

This intern will work embedded within the ETS UX/CX team on projects. The goal is to leave with owned artifacts and real facilitation experience. Assigned projects and responsibilities include:

• User Research Support: Assist in planning and conducting user interviews and surveys with internal employees to understand their experience with ETS services and tools. Help synthesize findings into affinity diagrams, experience summaries, and personas.
• Journey Mapping and Service Blueprinting: Participate in and support the facilitation of journey mapping workshops. Contribute to the documentation and refinement of current-state journey maps and service blueprints.
• Listening Post Maintenance: Help deploy and monitor feedback instruments across ETS touchpoints (Help Desk, onboarding, self-service). Track response rates, flag data quality issues, and summarize emerging themes on a regular cadence.
• Dashboard and Reporting Support: Assist with pulling and organizing CX data, updating dashboard visualizations, and preparing summaries for team and stakeholder review.
• UX Research and Design Contribution: Support UX research activities including usability testing, navigation testing, heuristic review, or design feedback sessions related to internal tools and employee-facing interfaces.
• Backlog and Documentation: Maintain Jira backlog items tied to CX improvement work, document meeting outcomes, and keep project artifacts organized and current.

Candidate Qualifications

Candidate Qualifications:

• Rising senior or second-year graduate student, graduating December 2027 or May/August 2028.

Desired Majors

Desired Majors:

• Human-Computer Interaction, UX Design, Information Science, Psychology, Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field.

Technical Skills/Experience

Technical Skills/Experience:

• Familiarity with digital whiteboarding or design collaboration tools such as Miro, Mural, FigJam, or Figma.
• Basic proficiency in Excel or Google Sheets for data organization, survey analysis, or reporting.
• Exposure to survey design or data collection tools (Microsoft Forms, Google Forms, Qualtrics, or SurveyMonkey).
• Exposure to user research tools (Hotjar, Optimal Workshop, etc.).
• Familiarity with journey mapping, personas, or other UX/CX research artifacts through coursework or project work.
• Basic experience with project or task management tools (Jira, Trello, Asana, or similar) is a plus.
• Familiarity with presentation tools (PowerPoint) for communicating research findings.
• Experience with qualitative research and facilitation.

Additional Qualifications

Additional Qualifications:

• Demonstrated interest in human-centered design principles, with the ability to apply empathy-based thinking to research and problem-solving.
• The ability to synthesize findings and present them clearly.
• Organized and detail-oriented, able to track multiple tasks and maintain documentation accurately.
• Collaborative working style with a genuine interest in how people interact with technology.
• Intellectual curiosity about IT systems, enterprise tools, and internal service delivery.
• Portfolio, coursework samples, or class projects that demonstrate research, design, or analysis work are strongly encouraged.

Compensation

Salary Range $25.00 - $25.00

Incentive Range: This position is eligible for an annual discretionary incentive compensation award, for which the target range is listed above.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

OCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. OCC is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. OCC provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, marital status, religion, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. Numerous studies have shown that people from certain groups are less likely than others to apply to jobs if they believe they do not meet 100% of the requirements. We encourage everyone to review our open positions and apply if you think your experience may be a match, even if you do not meet all of the qualifications. Your perspective may be an element we need to continue building innovative solutions to support the markets and market participants we serve. If you need a disability related accommodation for any part of the application process, please email [e-mail].