Summer 2027 UX Design Internship

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Summer 2027 UX Design Internship

Company: T-Mobile

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Job Type: Intern

Category: Product Design / UX Design

Date Posted: November 04, 2026

Experience Level: Entry Level (0-2 years)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Engage in a full product design lifecycle, from initial discovery and user research to solution development and prototyping for enterprise software within T-Mobile's Advertising Solutions (T-Ads) division.

• Develop and refine user experiences for complex digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising marketplaces, simplifying workflows for advertisers, media owners, and internal teams.

• Collaborate directly with experienced Product Designers, Product Managers, and Engineers, contributing to the team's design system and gaining hands-on mentorship.

• Own a significant UX design project, applying user-centered design principles and a strong visual design sensibility to create intuitive and impactful digital products.

📝 Enhancement Note: This is a UX Design Internship focused on enterprise software within the advertising technology space. The role emphasizes end-to-end design ownership, user research, prototyping, and collaboration within a dynamic product development team. The "Summer 2027" designation indicates the internship will take place during the summer of 2027, with applications likely opening well in advance.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own a defined UX design project from discovery through solution development, with direct mentorship from experienced Product Designers.

• Conduct comprehensive user research and usability testing to identify user needs, validate concepts, and iteratively inform design decisions.

• Create detailed user flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes using Figma to explore, articulate, and communicate design solutions effectively.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineers to understand technical constraints and business requirements, presenting design decisions and incorporating feedback.

• Contribute to the evolution of T-Mobile's design system by developing UI patterns, reusable components, and clear documentation to ensure design consistency across products.

• Simplify complex workflows for users involved in planning, buying, managing, and optimizing digital advertising at scale.

• Potentially contribute to internal tools or device monitoring experiences alongside the core advertising platforms.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a hands-on, project-driven internship where the intern is expected to "own" a project, indicating a significant level of autonomy and responsibility under guidance. The emphasis on simplifying complex workflows and contributing to a design system points towards a need for strong problem-solving and system-thinking skills.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Currently enrolled in a Bachelor's or Graduate degree program with at least one course remaining post-internship.

• Focus on fields related to User Experience (UX) Design, Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Product Design, Graphic Design, or a related discipline. Experience:

• Foundational understanding of user-centered design principles, interaction design methodologies, and the end-to-end UX design process.

• Demonstrated experience through academic projects, personal projects, or previous internships in designing digital products. Required Skills:

• Proficiency in Figma or similar design tools for creating wireframes, user flows, and interactive prototypes.

• Familiarity with user research methods and usability testing, with the ability to translate feedback into actionable design improvements.

• Strong visual design sensibility and a keen attention to detail in UI elements and overall user interface design.

• Effective communication skills, both written and verbal, for presenting design rationale and collaborating with cross-functional teams.

• Demonstrated collaboration and problem-solving abilities, essential for working within a product development team.

• Curiosity to challenge existing assumptions and a proactive initiative to work independently.

• Openness to receiving and adapting to constructive feedback from mentors and team members. Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing complex workflows, dashboards, or data-rich enterprise applications.

• Familiarity with established design systems, reusable UI components, and pattern libraries.

• Understanding of accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG basics) and inclusive design principles.

• Experience leveraging AI tools to support research, ideation, or design workflows.

• Previous internship experience in UX/Product Design or significant collaborative academic/personal design projects.

📝 Enhancement Note: The qualifications emphasize practical design skills, a solid grasp of the UX process, and collaborative capabilities. The "Preferred" section indicates areas where candidates can differentiate themselves, particularly experience with complex enterprise applications and design systems, which are highly relevant to the T-Ads product suite.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Project Scope & Problem Definition: Clearly articulate the problem statement or design challenge addressed by each project.

• Individual Contribution: Detail your specific role and contributions within team projects, distinguishing your work from others.

• Design Process & Exploration: Showcase your iterative design process, including ideation, wireframing, prototyping, and user testing phases. Provide reasoning behind key design decisions.

• Solution & Impact: Present the final design solution and, where possible, discuss its potential or actual impact, supported by user feedback or metrics.

• Learnings & Reflections: Include insights gained from the project, challenges encountered, and how you would approach similar problems in the future.

Process Documentation:

• Demonstrate familiarity with documenting design processes, including user journey mapping, workflow diagrams, and usability test plans.

• Showcase the ability to use tools like Figma to create clear, organized documentation for design systems, UI patterns, and component libraries.

• Evidence of turning research findings and user feedback into documented design requirements and actionable specifications for development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is critical for this role, serving as the primary artifact to demonstrate a candidate's design thinking, process, and problem-solving capabilities. Emphasis is placed on showing how a candidate arrived at a solution, not just the final output. This aligns with the "real work, not busywork" ethos of the internship.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Intern wages are expected to range from $27/hour to $50/hour USD.

• The final hourly rate will be determined based on factors including the candidate's educational background (STEM vs. non-STEM designation) and potentially other relevant qualifications. Benefits:

• Paid Internship: This is an 11-week paid learning experience.

• Mentorship Program: Paired with experienced mentors who will challenge interns to grow relevant skills.

• Relocation Assistance: Provided to program participants who reside more than 50 miles from the internship location in Philadelphia.

• Networking Opportunities: Build relationships with other interns and leaders across the company.

• Professional Development: Hands-on projects with real stakes, offering opportunities to make an immediate impact and learn from industry professionals.

Working Hours:

• Full-time engagement is implied for the 11-week duration, typical for paid internships. While not explicitly stated, expect standard business hours (approximately 40 hours per week) for the duration of the internship.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is clearly defined and tiered by educational focus (STEM vs. non-STEM). The benefits highlight the structured learning and support system provided, including relocation, which is a significant perk for interns needing to relocate. The "paid learning experience" framing emphasizes the value T-Mobile places on intern development.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Telecommunications, Wireless Technology, Digital Advertising Technology. T-Mobile is a major player in the US wireless market, known for its disruptive approach and aggressive expansion into 5G. The T-Ads division operates within the rapidly evolving digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising space, integrating technology and data to create advertising solutions.

Company Size: Large Enterprise (T-Mobile is a Fortune 500 company with tens of thousands of employees globally). This means interns have the opportunity to learn within a large, established organization while potentially working in a more focused, agile team environment within T-Ads.

Founded: T-Mobile traces its roots back to the 1990s, with significant evolution and mergers leading to its current structure. Its ethos is characterized by innovation and a "disruptor" mentality, even as a market leader.

Team Structure:

• The T-Ads Product Design team is described as "small enough that your work gets seen and big enough that it matters," suggesting a focused, impactful unit within the larger T-Mobile organization.

• Interns will report to a mentor and work closely with Product Managers and Engineers, indicating a collaborative, cross-functional reporting structure typical in agile product development.

• Collaboration is key, with regular check-ins, working sessions, and user testing opportunities, fostering an environment where ideas are shared and iterated upon. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Emphasis on user research and usability testing to inform design decisions, reflecting a data-driven approach to product development.

• Agile Development: The mention of collaboration with Product Managers and Engineers, and iterative feedback loops, suggests an agile or agile-like development methodology.

• User-Centricity: The core of the role is understanding and simplifying complex user workflows, highlighting a strong commitment to user-centered design principles.

Company Website: https://www.t-mobile.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: T-Mobile's culture is intentionally positioned as innovative and disruptive ("breaking the playbook"). For interns, this translates to an environment where real contributions are valued, and opportunities for growth exist within a large, established, yet agile, tech company. The T-Ads team offers a specific focus on advertising technology, a dynamic niche within the broader T-Mobile ecosystem.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is an entry-level internship designed for students early in their UX design careers. It serves as an immersive introduction to professional product design within a large tech company.

Reporting Structure: Interns will likely report to a dedicated mentor (an experienced Product Designer) and work closely with Product Managers and Engineers on specific projects. This provides exposure to different functional roles within product development.

Operations Impact: While not a traditional "Revenue Operations" role, UX design has a direct impact on user adoption, satisfaction, and ultimately, the success of T-Mobile's advertising solutions. By simplifying complex workflows and creating intuitive interfaces, UX design directly contributes to the efficiency and effectiveness of advertisers and internal teams, thereby influencing revenue generation and operational efficiency within the T-Ads division.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Development: Direct experience in the full UX design process, from research to prototyping, within a professional setting. Opportunity to refine skills in Figma, user research, and design system contribution.

• Industry Exposure: Gain insights into the telecommunications and digital advertising technology sectors. Understand how UX design functions within a large enterprise and contributes to business objectives.

• Networking: Build connections with peers, mentors, and T-Mobile leaders, potentially leading to future career opportunities.

• Potential for Future Employment: Successful interns may be considered for full-time roles upon graduation, as is common with many internship programs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The internship is framed as a significant growth opportunity, not just a summer job. It emphasizes hands-on learning, mentorship, and the chance to make a tangible impact, positioning it as a valuable stepping stone for a career in UX design within the tech industry. The "jungle gym of possibilities" metaphor suggests internal mobility and diverse career paths within T-Mobile.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The internship is described as "On-site" with the primary location in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. T-Mobile is known for its vibrant office environments, often designed to foster collaboration and innovation.

Office Location(s): Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is specified. While the job description mentions "New York, NY, United States" in the location data, the primary description focuses on Philadelphia. It's possible there are opportunities in New York, or Philadelphia is the confirmed primary hub for this specific posting.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative: Expect a dynamic workspace designed to encourage interaction, with opportunities for working sessions and feedback exchanges with peers, mentors, and cross-functional teams.

• Tools & Technology: Interns will have access to industry-standard design tools like Figma, along with the broader technology infrastructure of T-Mobile.

• Team Interaction: Regular engagement with experienced designers, Product Managers, and Engineers will be a core part of the daily experience.

Work Schedule: Full-time, 11-week paid internship, implying a standard 40-hour work week during business hours. Flexibility might exist within the daily schedule, but the overall commitment is full-time.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on an on-site, collaborative environment suggests T-Mobile values in-person interaction for mentorship and teamwork, particularly for interns. The Philadelphia location provides a specific anchor for the role.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Application Submission: Submit resume, cover letter (if required), and portfolio link.

• Portfolio Review: Initial screening will heavily rely on the submitted portfolio to assess design skills, process, and problem-solving capabilities.

• Screening Interview: A preliminary interview, likely with a recruiter or junior team member, to assess basic qualifications, communication skills, and fit.

• Technical/Design Interview(s): This will likely involve a deeper dive into portfolio projects, design challenges, and discussions about UX principles. Candidates may be asked to walk through their process for specific projects.

• Team/Hiring Manager Interview: A final interview to assess cultural fit, collaboration potential, and overall suitability for the team and T-Mobile's values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Selectively: Choose 2-3 of your strongest projects that best demonstrate your UX process and problem-solving skills, especially those involving complex workflows or data.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly outline the problem, your role, your thought process, the design decisions you made (and why), iterations, and the outcome or learnings. Use visuals effectively.

• Highlight Process: Emphasize the "how" and "why" behind your designs. Show sketches, wireframes, user flows, research findings, and testing results.

• Demonstrate Tool Proficiency: Ensure your prototypes are functional and showcase your ability to use Figma effectively.

• Tailor to T-Ads: If possible, subtly align your portfolio projects with the types of challenges T-Ads faces (e.g., complex enterprise software, data visualization, workflow simplification).

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Thinking Exercises: Be prepared for hypothetical design challenges where you'll need to articulate your approach to solving a user problem.

• Case Study Walkthrough: Practice presenting a key project from your portfolio concisely, focusing on your contributions and design rationale.

• Behavioral Questions: Prepare responses for questions about teamwork, problem-solving, handling feedback, and learning from mistakes.

• Company Research: Understand T-Mobile's mission, values, and its position in the market, particularly within advertising technology.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily weigh the portfolio. Candidates should prepare to articulate their design process in detail and demonstrate how they approach problem-solving and collaboration. Understanding T-Mobile's "Un-carrier" culture will be important for demonstrating cultural fit.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: This is the core design tool mentioned for wireframing, prototyping, and potentially UI design and system contribution. Proficiency is essential.

• Prototyping Tools: Figma's prototyping capabilities, or potentially others if used for specific advanced interactions.

• Collaboration Tools: Likely includes tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Confluence, or similar platforms for team communication, project management, and documentation.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not directly a UX responsibility for interns, awareness of how user data and analytics (e.g., from product usage) inform design decisions is beneficial. Familiarity with tools like Google Analytics or internal reporting dashboards might be helpful context. CRM & Automation:

• Understanding how advertising platforms interact with CRM systems or automate campaign management processes would provide valuable context, though direct hands-on experience is unlikely to be a requirement for an intern.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is the explicitly stated critical tool. The emphasis is on design and prototyping tools. While awareness of broader MarTech/AdTech stacks is a plus, deep expertise is not expected for an internship.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Innovation & Disruption: T-Mobile's "Un-carrier" ethos means valuing creative thinking, challenging the status quo, and driving forward-thinking solutions.

• Customer Focus: A strong emphasis on understanding and serving customer needs, translating into user-centered design.

• Collaboration & Teamwork: The "we won't stop!" mentality suggests a collective effort where individuals support each other to achieve goals.

• Accountability & Ownership: Interns are expected to "own" their projects, reflecting a culture that values responsibility and initiative.

• Inclusivity & Diversity: T-Mobile actively promotes diversity and inclusion, expecting employees to bring their authentic selves (#BEYOU).

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Close working relationships with Product Management and Engineering are integral to the product development process.

• Mentorship-Driven: A structured approach to guidance and learning, with experienced designers actively supporting intern development.

• Feedback Culture: Regular check-ins and working sessions imply an environment where constructive feedback is shared and incorporated.

• Open Communication: Encouraging ideas from anyone and fostering an environment where contributions are welcomed.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture is built around innovation, customer obsession, and teamwork. For an intern, this means being proactive, collaborative, open to feedback, and willing to contribute ideas within a supportive framework. The #BEYOU aspect highlights an expectation of authenticity.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Complexity of Enterprise Software: Designing for complex workflows and data-rich interfaces for professional users (advertisers, media owners) requires deep user empathy and analytical thinking.

• Balancing User Needs with Business Goals: Interns will need to learn how to balance user experience with technical constraints and T-Mobile's business objectives within the advertising solutions space.

• Navigating a Large Organization: Understanding how to effectively collaborate and gain buy-in within a large corporate structure can be a learning curve.

• Rapidly Evolving AdTech Landscape: Staying abreast of trends in digital advertising technology and integrating them into design solutions.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• UX Process Mastery: Deepen understanding and practical application of the entire UX design lifecycle.

• Tool Proficiency: Become highly skilled in Figma and other relevant design and collaboration tools.

• Industry Insight: Gain firsthand experience in the telecommunications and digital advertising technology sectors.

• Professional Networking: Build a valuable network of contacts within T-Mobile.

• Design System Contribution: Learn the principles and practices of building and maintaining a scalable design system.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenges involve translating complex business needs into user-friendly designs within a specific industry context. The growth opportunities are significant, offering a well-rounded professional development experience that goes beyond technical skill acquisition.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Walk me through a project in your portfolio that you're most proud of. What was the problem, your role, your process, and the outcome?" (Focus on demonstrating your UX process and decision-making).

• "How do you approach user research and incorporate feedback into your designs?" (Highlight your user-centricity and iterative approach).

• "Describe a time you had to simplify a complex workflow. What steps did you take?" (Showcase problem-solving skills relevant to T-Ads' challenges).

• "How do you ensure your designs are accessible and inclusive?" (Demonstrate awareness of WCAG and inclusive design principles). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What do you know about T-Mobile's 'Un-carrier' culture, and how do you see yourself fitting into it?" (Research T-Mobile's values and prepare examples of how you embody them).

• "Why are you interested in UX design within the advertising technology space specifically?" (Show genuine interest and understanding of the domain).

• "How do you handle constructive criticism or feedback on your designs?" (Emphasize adaptability and a growth mindset). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: For each project, clearly define: Problem -> Your Role -> Research/Discovery -> Ideation/Exploration -> Design Solutions (Wireframes, Prototypes) -> Testing/Iteration -> Final Outcome/Learnings.

• Visuals: Use high-fidelity mockups and interactive prototypes where appropriate, but don't shy away from showing early-stage sketches and user flows to illustrate your thought process.

• Narrative: Tell a compelling story about each project. Explain the "why" behind your decisions.

• Conciseness: Be mindful of time. Practice presenting your projects within a set timeframe (e.g., 10-15 minutes per project).

• Interactivity: Be ready to navigate through your prototypes and answer detailed questions about specific design choices.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should prepare to articulate their design process thoroughly, demonstrate problem-solving skills with concrete examples, and show how their values align with T-Mobile's culture. The portfolio presentation is paramount.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UX Design Internship:

• Submit Your Application: Complete the online application form, ensuring all required fields are filled accurately.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest UX design projects that best showcase your skills, process, and ability to solve complex problems. Ensure your portfolio is easily accessible online (e.g., personal website, Behance, Adobe Portfolio).

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight relevant coursework, projects, and any previous design experience. Use keywords from the job description such as "UX design," "Figma," "user research," "prototyping," and "design system."

• Prepare Your Portfolio Presentation: Practice walking through your selected projects, focusing on your design process, decision-making, and individual contributions. Be ready to articulate your rationale clearly and concisely.

• Research T-Mobile: Understand T-Mobile's mission, values, and its position in the market, particularly the T-Ads division's role in advertising technology. Familiarize yourself with their "Un-carrier" culture.

⚠️ 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.