Product Design Intern (Summer 2025)

As a Product Design Intern at OpenAI, your key responsibilities will include contributing to the overall design direction, designing and launching high-quality product features from initial concepts to finished prototypes, collaborating with engineering, product management, and AI research teams, and engaging in user research to enhance our products. This role is designed to give you practical experience in shaping technology for real-world applications.

To qualify for the Product Design Intern position at OpenAI, candidates should have a portfolio that demonstrates strong UX, UI, and interaction design skills. Additionally, experience in tackling ambiguous design challenges, effective communication skills, and being enrolled in higher education with at least one semester remaining post-internship are essential requirements.

Collaboration is crucial at OpenAI. As a Product Design Intern, you will work closely with product managers, engineers, and other designers, ensuring that both long-term strategies and immediate tactical needs are met. This cross-functional approach fosters a dynamic environment where your ideas can directly influence product development.

As a Product Design Intern at OpenAI, you can expect a hands-on and immersive experience that places you at the forefront of AI technology. You will engage in projects that genuinely impact user experiences, work within a supportive team, and develop your design skills through practical application and feedback. This role is an excellent opportunity to learn and grow within an innovative company.

During your internship, you'll work on a variety of projects that aim to enhance OpenAI's product offerings. This includes designing new features, refining existing product interfaces, and conducting user research to ensure designs meet user needs. Your contributions will help shape the future of AI products, making them not only functional but also user-friendly and visually appealing.

When discussing your design process in an interview, emphasize your ability to research user needs, create initial sketches or wireframes, seek feedback, and iterate on designs. Highlight how you incorporate team collaboration and user feedback into your work, as this is vital at OpenAI.

Express your passion for design and AI, mentioning specific projects or values of OpenAI that resonate with you. Highlight any particular interest in creating accessible technology or improving user experiences, as this aligns with OpenAI's mission.

Explain that constructive feedback is an integral part of the design process. Discuss your approach to receiving criticism positively and using it to enhance your work. Sharing examples of how you've applied feedback to improve your designs can be beneficial.

Articulate your belief that understanding user needs is paramount in UX design. Discuss how empathy for users can lead to creating more intuitive experiences and the importance of user research in shaping that understanding.

Share a specific example from your portfolio that highlights your problem-solving skills. Focus on the problem, your thought process, the design solutions you explored, and how the final result improved the user experience.

Mention specific design blogs, websites, or communities you follow. Highlight your dedication to continuous learning, whether through online courses, attending design meetups, or participating in workshops, and how this keeps your skills sharp.

List the design tools you're familiar with, such as Sketch, Figma, Adobe XD, or others you feel comfortable using. Discuss your ability to adapt and learn new tools quickly as needed in your role at OpenAI.

Talk about your collaborative projects, emphasizing communication and teamwork skills. Describe how you ensure ideas flow freely and how you deal with conflicts, ensuring a harmonious workflow.

A great product design is user-centric, aesthetically pleasing, and functional. Discuss the balance between usability and beauty, and how understanding user needs ultimately drives successful design.

Discuss how a Product Designer's role is to bridge the gap between user needs and technical implementation. Explain that they must advocate for users while collaborating with cross-functional teams to create products that meet market demands.