Summer 2027 Industrial Design Internship

Undergraduate Industrial Design Intern (Summer 2027)

This undergraduate design internship is intended to start in Summer 2027. Interns typically work a full-time schedule for a 10-12 week assignment, and the position is limited to 899 hours per service credit year. It also offers a path for people transitioning from private, public, government or military experience into a 3M career.

About the Safety & Industrial Business Group

The Safety and Industrial Business Group (SIBG) offers products that improve safety, productivity, and efficiency across many industries. Key categories include personal safety (respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection), abrasives, adhesives and tapes, electrical markets (electrical tapes, wire connectors, and cable management), automotive aftermarket products, and industrial and safety markets (safety solutions and industrial maintenance products).

About 3M Design

3M Design is a multidisciplinary internal creative team supporting brand, product, packaging, digital experience, and design research across industrial, safety, and professional-use markets. Interns apply design skills to real business challenges while working with experienced designers and cross-functional partners in business, marketing, engineering, product, and technical teams.

Interns learn a human-centered design process, turning customer insights and business needs into brand-aligned solutions for physical products, digital experiences, packaging, and visual systems. Project work may include brand design, packaging systems, design research, product design, UX/UI design, industrial design, prototyping, testing, and brand audits. Onboarding, coaching, and hands-on projects are designed to build foundational design skills and help you explore a design career.

The Impact You Will Make

As an Undergraduate Industrial Design Intern on the SIBG team, you will help create user-centered products and experiences that support industrial safety, productivity, and performance. You will contribute to products used in industrial, safety, manufacturing, and workplace settings, with attention to usability, ergonomics, customer value, and practical application.

You will work with Industrial Designers, Engineers, Marketers, Product Managers, and other cross-functional partners to understand user needs, develop concepts, build prototypes, and support solutions for 3M customers. You will receive mentorship, structured onboarding, and hands-on opportunities to grow in product design, research, prototyping, and cross-functional collaboration.

Key Expectations

You will take ownership of your work and bring curiosity, initiative, and creativity to each assignment. Support and guidance are available, and the team is looking for someone organized, reliable, and eager to contribute to meaningful design projects.

• Contribute to product design and concept development for physical products, tools, equipment, packaging, or safety-related solutions.
• Develop sketches, CAD models, renderings, mockups, and prototypes to communicate design ideas.
• Build skills through project work, design feedback, and mentorship.
• Support innovation by identifying new product opportunities and improvements to existing solutions.
• Assist with user research to understand worker, customer, and end-user needs.
• Apply ergonomic and usability principles to improve comfort, fit, ease of use, and productivity.
• Synthesize research findings into actionable design recommendations.
• Consider material, manufacturing, durability, cost, and performance requirements when developing concepts.
• Collaborate with engineering, marketing, product management, manufacturing, and customer-facing teams.
• Take part in design reviews, critiques, workshops, and cross-functional discussions.
• Communicate concepts clearly through visuals, prototypes, presentations, and documentation.
• Help ensure designs align with 3M's innovation, quality, brand, and customer experience standards.

Additional Information

Travel may include up to 10% domestic travel. 3M provides eligible interns with a housing and transportation stipend in accordance with current policy.

All US-based 3M full-time employees must sign an employee agreement as a condition of employment. This agreement covers the use of 3M Confidential Information and Trade Secrets, conflicts of interest, and invention assignment.

Safety is a core value at 3M. All employees are expected to contribute to a strong Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) culture by following safety policies, identifying hazards, and engaging in continuous improvement.

3M does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.