Y Combinator Product Design Intern
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Summary
Product Design Intern at Tractian, a YC-backed industrial technology company using hardware, software and AI to help industrial teams prevent equipment downtime. The intern takes a defined user problem from research through wireframes and interactive Figma prototypes, testing and refining the design with product and engineering partners.
Why Join Us
Tractian combines hardware, software and AI to help industrial teams detect equipment problems early and prevent costly downtime. Our technology supports more than 3,761 plants and monitors over 370,000 industrial assets. As a Y Combinator company, we’ve been recognized on the Forbes AI 50, named a G2 Leader and ranked No. 24 on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 in North America. Join us to help build technology that keeps industry running.
Product Design at Tractian
At Tractian, we design products that make complex industrial technology easier to use. Our designers learn how customers work and turn those insights into concepts they can prototype, test and improve. Working closely with engineers, they refine how our products look and function so industrial teams can understand equipment problems and take action.
What You Will Do
Take a defined user problem from research to an interactive prototype. Work with product and engineering partners to test assumptions, refine the experience and prepare designs that can be implemented.
Responsibilities
- Support interviews or usability studies and translate findings into clear user needs and design priorities.
- Create task flows, wireframes and Figma prototypes that explore and communicate potential solutions.
- Test and refine interaction details, including accessibility, information hierarchy and error states.
- Document design decisions and handoffs, then review implementation with engineers against the intended experience.
Requirements
- Pursuing or recently completed a degree in Product Design, Industrial Design, Interaction Design, HCI or a related discipline.
- A portfolio showing your personal contribution, problem-solving process and how research or testing influenced the result.
- Proficiency in Figma and interactive prototyping, with strong attention to visual and interaction design.
- Ability to explain tradeoffs, collaborate within technical constraints and respond thoughtfully to feedback.
Helpful Experience
Experience with user research, usability testing, design systems or technical products. Physical-product and wearable projects are relevant when they demonstrate strong research and considered user interactions.
What You Will Gain
Experience connecting user evidence to product decisions, with design feedback and engineering collaboration throughout a scoped project.
