UX Product Design Intern (San Mateo)

Skydio is the leading US drone company and a world leader in autonomous flight, a key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to serve a broad and diverse group of drone users, from utility inspectors and first responders to soldiers in battlefield scenarios, and beyond.

The Challenge

Skydio products are used by professionals working in rugged environments where every second counts. Their missions include finding missing persons, restoring power, keeping roads open, and keeping people safe. Our mandate is to solve one of the most complex problems of our time: building autonomous flying robots that help customers get the job done, no matter what.

Skydio is defining the future of autonomous robotics. Our products must be more than capable, they must also be highly reliable. We are looking for a UX Product Design Intern who wants to learn how trustworthy experiences are designed for complex autonomous systems.

Designers at Skydio are shaping the interfaces of the future. As an intern, you will help turn advanced technology into intuitive, reliable, and well-crafted experiences that give operators clarity and confidence when it matters most.

About the Role

As a UX Product Design Intern, you will work alongside experienced designers, Product Managers, and Engineers to create intuitive experiences for autonomous systems. You will contribute to clearly scoped projects across Web and Mobile with regular mentorship, critique, and support.

Depending on the project, you may map Critical User Journeys (CUJs), synthesize research, explore workflows, create wireframes and high-fidelity designs, build interactive prototypes, and incorporate feedback from users and cross-functional partners. You will design for complex, real-world environments while developing your product thinking, communication, and design craft.

We expect you to bring curiosity, a developing foundation in product design, and a willingness to seek and act on feedback. Over the internship, you will take on increasing ownership of well-bounded deliverables with support from your manager and design partners.

How You Will Make an Impact

• Design for Trust: Contribute to interfaces that help operators understand what the autonomous flying robot is doing and feel confident the job will get done.
• Explore Complex Problems: Work with experienced designers on challenges involving remote hardware sensing, 3D spatial awareness, and AI-driven missions. Help turn early ideas into flows, wireframes, and prototypes.
• Learn From Users: Support research, usability studies, and on-site customer visits. Help synthesize observations and bring that ground truth back to the team.
• Communicate and Iterate: Share your work, explain your design choices, invite feedback, and improve solutions with Design, Product, and Engineering.
• Strengthen the Craft: Create thoughtful, high-quality interfaces and interactive prototypes. Use design and AI tools responsibly to explore ideas, test assumptions, and learn quickly.
• Contribute to the Team: Take part in critiques, help document design decisions, and contribute to design-system patterns and team practices where relevant.

What Makes You a Great Fit

• Portfolio or Work Samples: Share academic, personal, freelance, or internship projects that show your design process, problem solving, and ability to learn through iteration.
• Design Fundamentals: You have a developing foundation in interaction design, visual design, prototyping, and user-centered problem solving.
• Prototyping Skills: You are proficient with tools such as Figma and can turn ideas into wireframes, high-fidelity designs, or interactive prototypes.
• Curiosity and Growth: You ask thoughtful questions, seek feedback, and want to build new skills in a fast-moving technical environment.
• Clear Collaboration: You can explain your thinking, listen to different perspectives, stay organized, and work well with teammates from other disciplines.
• Interest in Complex Products: You are interested in robotics, AI, hardware, mapping, navigation, or other technical products. Prior experience in these areas is helpful but not required.
• AI Curiosity: You are interested in how AI can support design research, prototyping, and storytelling, applying sound judgment to when and how these tools are used.
• Education or Equivalent Experience: You are currently pursuing or have recently completed a degree, certificate, or focused training in product design, interaction design, HCI, human factors, or a related field, or have built equivalent skills through self-directed or practical work.

Skydio believes diversity drives innovation. We have built a multidisciplinary environment that values diverse perspectives to create elegant solutions for complex problems, and we are committed to growing our people, programs, and resources to nurture an inclusive culture.

Qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local anti-discrimination laws.

For positions located in the United States, Skydio, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility.