UX Generalist Intern

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Generalist Intern Company: Allegion Location: Carmel, IN Job Type: INTERN Category: User Experience (UX) / Design Operations Date Posted: October 20, 2025 Experience Level: 0-2 Years (Intern) Remote Status: Remote OK (US-based preferred, especially near Denver or Indianapolis)

🚀 Role Summary

• This internship offers hands-on experience in User Experience (UX) Generalist responsibilities, focusing on supporting IT software product teams.
• The role involves collaborating with cross-functional teams including Product Management, Software Development, Design, Research, Customer Success, and Marketing to deliver user-centered software solutions.
• Interns will actively participate in Agile/Scrum ceremonies, contributing to a supportive and inclusive Software Services organization.
• The position emphasizes practical application of UX principles, research methodologies, and design documentation within a real-world product development lifecycle.

📝 Enhancement Note: While labeled "UX Generalist Intern," the responsibilities strongly lean towards UX Design and UX Research support. The "Generalist" aspect refers to exposure across various UX functions rather than a deep specialization. The "Operations" aspect is implicit in supporting product teams and potentially the design ops team.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the IT UX Design and Research team to conceptualize and develop solutions for user-identified problems, ensuring user-centered design principles are applied.
• Support the creation and refinement of design deliverables, including user flows, wireframes, and prototypes, to effectively gather feedback from internal stakeholders and end-users.
• Partner with software development teams to assess concept feasibility, provide clear design hand-offs, and ensure accurate implementation of designs.
• Assist the Design Operations team by contributing to the maintenance and utilization of the team's design system.
• Actively participate in all assigned Scrum ceremonies (e.g., sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, retrospectives) to integrate UX activities into the development workflow.
• Aid in the preparation and execution of user research activities, such as usability testing, heuristic evaluations, card sorting, and user interviews, to gather critical user insights.
• Attend and contribute to weekly design and research review meetings, presenting work, sharing findings, and actively soliciting and incorporating feedback.
• Engage with designers, researchers, and customer success teams to maintain a deep understanding of evolving user needs and product requirements.
• Participate in bimonthly User Experience team demos to showcase progress, learn from other UX initiatives, and contribute to collective knowledge sharing.
• Track personal tasks and project progress on the team's Kanban board, ensuring transparency and contributing to team efficiency initiatives.
• Proactively explore and research new design tools, emerging technologies, and current UX trends, sharing relevant insights and potential applications with teammates.
• Demonstrate initiative by taking thoughtful risks, proposing innovative solutions, and proactively seeking opportunities to contribute beyond assigned tasks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong blend of UX design execution and user research support, typical for a UX intern role. The inclusion of "Design Ops" and "Scrum/Kanban" indicates a structured, process-oriented environment.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Currently pursuing a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), UX Design, or a closely related UX field. Experience: Some prior experience or coursework in Agile environments, user-centered design processes, and user research methodologies is required.

Required Skills:

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, essential for building empathy with users and clearly articulating research findings and design rationale to diverse audiences.
• Familiarity with iterative design processes and the ability to create basic design deliverables such as user flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes.
• Demonstrated experience or coursework in conducting user research activities and usability testing.
• Ability to analyze qualitative and quantitative research data to identify actionable insights and translate them into design recommendations.
• Basic understanding of information architecture principles and web accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG).
• Proficiency with common design and collaboration tools such as Figma, Mural, Miro, Microsoft Teams, or Slack.
• A proactive, self-starting attitude with the ability to manage personal workload, prioritize tasks effectively, and collaborate within a team setting.

Preferred Skills:

• Portfolio or coursework examples showcasing design deliverables, user research projects, and problem-solving approaches.
• Familiarity with design system principles and best practices.
• Experience participating in Scrum ceremonies or working within an Agile development framework.
• Understanding of UX best practices for enterprise software or hardware-integrated software solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize practical skills and a foundational understanding of UX principles and tools, suitable for an intern. The inclusion of a portfolio requirement, even for coursework examples, indicates a desire for tangible evidence of skills.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the user-centered design process from problem identification to solution delivery.
• Showcase projects that highlight your ability to translate user needs and business requirements into effective design solutions.
• Include examples of design deliverables such as user flows, wireframes, interactive prototypes, and final UI designs.
• Present case studies that detail your research methodology, analysis of findings, and how insights informed design decisions.

Process Documentation:

• Provide examples of how you document user research findings, including summary reports, personas, or journey maps.
• Illustrate your approach to creating and managing design documentation for hand-offs to development teams.
• Showcase any experience with maintaining or contributing to design systems or style guides, demonstrating an understanding of component-based design and consistency.

📝 Enhancement Note: While not explicitly stated as a formal requirement, a portfolio is strongly implied ("portfolio or coursework examples preferred"). For an intern role, this would likely focus on academic projects or personal initiatives that showcase core UX skills.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $25 - $26 per hour.

• This hourly range is provided by Allegion and is based on the intern level and location considerations. Actual compensation will be determined by factors such as candidate experience, skills, and other legal considerations.

Benefits:

• Professional Growth: Exposure to Allegion's leaders, opportunities for skill-building and professional development.
• Networking Opportunities: Meaningful time to network with peers and Allegion leaders through sponsored activities.
• Paid Time Off: Generous paid time off, reflecting a commitment to work-life balance.
• Mentorship: Access to mentor/mentee relationships and potential coaching through CliftonStrengths assessment.
• Development Programs: Participation in Allegion-sponsored activities and potential access to professional development resources.

Working Hours: Approximately 40 hours per week, with a preference for candidates available during East Coast business hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary is explicitly stated as hourly for an intern role. The benefits are framed around development and networking, typical for internship programs. The mention of US-based remote work with preference for specific metro areas suggests a hybrid or flexible approach for remote interns.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Security & Safety, Building Products, Technology (Software Services). Allegion is a global leader in safety and security, specializing in products and solutions for the doorway and beyond. Company Size: Allegion is a large enterprise with over 12,000 employees globally, operating in 130 countries with more than 30 brands. This scale offers significant opportunities for impact and learning. Founded: Allegion was established in 2013, spinning off from Ingersoll Rand. This means it has a strong industrial heritage combined with a modern corporate structure focused on innovation and growth.

Team Structure:

• The UX Generalist Intern will join the IT UX Design and Research team, which is part of the larger Software Services organization. This team collaborates closely with IT software product teams.
• Reporting structure will likely be to a UX Manager or Senior UX Designer/Researcher, with direct mentorship provided.
• Cross-functional collaboration is a core element, involving Product Managers, Software Developers, Designers, Researchers, Customer Support, Customer Success, and Marketing teams.

Methodology:

• The team operates within an Agile/Scrum framework, emphasizing iterative development, continuous feedback, and team collaboration.
• UX activities are integrated into the product development lifecycle, utilizing user research, design thinking, and data analysis to inform decisions.
• Emphasis on psychological safety, collaboration, accountability, inclusion, and continuous learning are core organizational values that shape team interactions and processes.

Company Website: [Allegion Company URL - Placeholder, as it was not provided in the input]

📝 Enhancement Note: Allegion is a well-established global company with a strong focus on safety and security, and a recent emphasis on employee engagement, as evidenced by the Gallup award. The IT organization, including the UX team, likely follows modern software development practices.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is an entry-level internship role (0-2 years experience). It is designed for students to gain foundational experience in UX design and research within a corporate IT environment. Reporting Structure: The intern will report to a UX Manager or Senior UX professional and will work closely with assigned product teams, integrating into their Scrum/Agile structure. This provides exposure to both team-level and department-level dynamics. Operations Impact: While an intern's direct impact is often focused on specific project tasks, their contributions to user research, design validation, and documentation directly influence product design decisions. This role provides a platform to understand how UX influences customer satisfaction, product adoption, and ultimately, business success in the security and safety sector.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Opportunity to deepen skills in specific areas of UX design (e.g., wireframing, prototyping) or UX research (e.g., usability testing, qualitative analysis) based on project assignments and interests.
• Industry Exposure: Gain invaluable experience in enterprise software development within the security industry, understanding unique user needs and regulatory considerations.
• Networking & Mentorship: Build professional connections within Allegion and receive guidance from experienced UX professionals through formal mentorship programs and daily interactions.
• Full-Time Conversion Potential: While not guaranteed, successful interns often have a strong advantage for future full-time roles within Allegion's Software Services or UX teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: This analysis assumes the internship is a structured program designed for learning and development, typical of large companies like Allegion. The emphasis on "growth" and "development" suggests a supportive environment for interns.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is designated as "Remote OK" but with a preference for candidates local to the Denver or Indianapolis metro areas. This suggests a hybrid model is possible, where remote work is the default, but occasional in-office presence for collaboration, team events, or specific project needs might be required (up to 1-3 times). Office Location(s): Carmel, IN is the primary listed location. Remote candidates are also considered, with a preference for those near Denver, CO, or Indianapolis, IN. Workspace Context:

• The work environment is described as supportive, quality-driven, and valuing psychological safety, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Interns will work with modern design and collaboration tools (Figma, Mural, Teams, Slack), facilitating effective remote or hybrid collaboration.
• Opportunities for interaction with designers, researchers, customer success teams, and product teams will be frequent, fostering a dynamic and engaging work experience.

Work Schedule: The standard work schedule is expected to be approximately 40 hours per week. There is a preference for availability during East Coast business hours, which is crucial for effective collaboration with distributed teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Remote OK" with local preferences indicates flexibility but also a potential need for occasional in-person collaboration, which is common for internships designed to integrate interns into the company culture and team dynamics.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Application review, likely followed by a brief phone screen with an HR representative or recruiter to assess basic qualifications and interest.
• Interviews: Expect 1-2 rounds of interviews. This may include:
  • A technical/skill-based interview with UX team members to discuss your design process, research experience, and tool proficiency.
  • A behavioral interview focusing on collaboration, problem-solving, communication, and how you align with Allegion's values (e.g., psychological safety, continuous learning).
  • A hiring manager interview to assess overall fit and alignment with team goals.
• Portfolio Review: A significant portion of the interview process will involve reviewing your portfolio. Be prepared to walk through 1-2 key projects, explaining your role, process, challenges, and outcomes.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Select Projects: Choose 1-2 projects that best showcase your skills relevant to the internship description (e.g., user research, wireframing, prototyping, user flows). Academic projects are acceptable.
• Structure Your Case Studies: For each project, clearly outline:
  • The Problem: What user or business problem were you trying to solve?
  • Your Role: What specific contributions did you make?
  • The Process: Detail your methodology (research, ideation, design, testing).
  • The Solution: Showcase your design deliverables (wireframes, prototypes, etc.).
  • The Outcome/Impact: What were the results or key learnings?
• Highlight Collaboration & Communication: Emphasize how you worked with others and communicated your ideas, even in academic settings.
• Be Prepared for Tool-Specific Questions: If you list specific tools (Figma, Mural), be ready to discuss your experience with them.

Challenge Preparation:

• While not explicitly mentioned, some companies may include a small design exercise or a hypothetical problem-solving scenario. Be prepared to think aloud and articulate your approach to design challenges.
• Practice explaining your thought process clearly and concisely, focusing on user needs and business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on portfolio review and specific case study structure is crucial for UX roles. For an intern, demonstrating process and learning potential is as important as polished final designs.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly preferred), or similar tools like Sketch, Adobe XD.
• Collaboration & Whiteboarding: Mural, Miro, Microsoft Teams, Slack.
• Project Management: Kanban boards (implied by mention of Kanban board tracking).

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not directly listed as a requirement for the intern, exposure to analytics tools might be beneficial. The team likely uses tools for user feedback aggregation and potentially basic analytics reporting.

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly mentioned for this UX role, but understanding that UX work supports product development, which is integrated with CRM and sales/support processes, is valuable context.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma and collaboration tools like Mural/Teams is a strong indicator of the team's current toolset and workflow. Familiarity with these is essential for an intern to hit the ground running.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Psychological Safety: Fostering an environment where team members feel safe to express ideas, ask questions, and take calculated risks without fear of negative consequences.
• Collaboration: Strong emphasis on teamwork across disciplines (UX, Dev, PM, Marketing, Support) to achieve shared goals.
• Accountability: Taking ownership of tasks and contributions, demonstrating reliability and commitment to project success.
• Inclusion: Valuing diverse perspectives and ensuring all team members feel respected and have equal opportunities to contribute.
• Continuous Learning: Encouraging curiosity, skill development, and staying updated with industry trends and best practices.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: UX is deeply embedded within product teams, working closely with developers and product managers throughout the development lifecycle.
• Feedback-Driven: Regular design and research reviews, Scrum ceremonies, and team demos facilitate open feedback loops for continuous improvement.
• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraged through team demos, internal presentations, and collaborative tool usage, promoting a culture of shared learning and best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award and stated values like psychological safety and continuous learning suggest a mature and employee-centric culture within Allegion's IT and Software Services divisions.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing User Needs with Business/Technical Constraints: Learning to advocate for the user while understanding and navigating technical limitations and business objectives.
• Integrating into an Existing Agile Workflow: Adapting quickly to established Scrum/Kanban processes and contributing effectively as an intern.
• Remote Collaboration Effectiveness: Mastering remote communication and collaboration tools to ensure seamless teamwork despite potential physical distance.
• Translating Research into Actionable Design: Developing the skill to synthesize complex research findings into clear, implementable design recommendations.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• UX Skill Advancement: Hands-on practice with core UX design and research methodologies, refining skills in wireframing, prototyping, usability testing, and data analysis.
• Industry Exposure: Gaining insight into the unique UX challenges and opportunities within the safety and security technology sector.
• Professional Networking: Building relationships with experienced UX professionals and other interns through structured programs and company events.
• Tool Proficiency: Becoming proficient in industry-standard UX tools such as Figma and collaborative platforms.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are framed not as obstacles but as learning opportunities, common in internship programs designed for growth.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Design Process: "Walk me through a project from your portfolio. What was the problem, your role, your process, and the outcome?" Be prepared to discuss your UX methodology in detail.
• Problem-Solving: "Imagine you're designing a new feature for [Allegion product context]. How would you approach understanding user needs for this feature?" Focus on your research and ideation steps.
• Collaboration & Communication: "Describe a time you had to collaborate with developers or product managers. How did you ensure alignment and effective communication?" Highlight your ability to work in a team and articulate design rationale.

Company & Culture Questions:

• Motivation: "Why are you interested in UX design and specifically in an internship at Allegion?" Research Allegion's mission, products, and values.
• Teamwork: "How do you approach giving and receiving feedback?" Refer to the emphasis on continuous learning and collaboration.
• Values Alignment: "What does psychological safety mean to you in a team environment?" Relate your experiences to Allegion's core values.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling: Frame your portfolio projects as narratives – a problem, your journey to a solution, and the impact.
• Visuals are Key: Use clear screenshots, wireframes, prototypes, and research artifacts. Annotate them to explain your decisions.
• Focus on "Why" and "How": Explain why you made certain design choices and how your research informed them.
• Be Concise: For an intern role, focus on clarity and demonstrating your understanding of the UX process rather than overly complex or polished final products.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparing specific examples for behavioral questions and practicing a clear, concise portfolio walkthrough are critical for success in UX internships.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided Workday application link.
• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight relevant coursework, projects, and any experience with Agile methodologies, design tools (Figma, Mural), and communication platforms (Teams, Slack). Quantify achievements where possible.
• Prepare Your Portfolio: Ensure your portfolio (or coursework examples) is easily accessible and clearly showcases your UX design process, research skills, and ability to create design deliverables. Select 1-2 projects that best align with the internship responsibilities.
• Research Allegion: Understand Allegion's mission, products (especially in the security space), and company values (e.g., psychological safety, continuous learning, inclusion). This will help you tailor your answers and demonstrate genuine interest.
• Practice Your Pitch: Be ready to articulate your interest in UX, your relevant skills, and why you are a good fit for Allegion's culture during any interviews. Practice walking through a portfolio project concisely.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

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