RIT Co-op: Design Thinking

Rochester Regional Health

2d • Onsite

About The Position

This is a Co-op Opportunity in Design Thinking, in partnership with Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). The program is located in Rochester, NY, and is part of the Performance Excellence team. The focus areas include Human-Centered Design, Innovation, Process Improvement, and Operational Analytics. The role involves collaborating with clinicians, patients, and the Performance Excellence team to identify design opportunities, translate user needs into concepts and prototypes, and support the end-to-end design process while ensuring compliance with healthcare standards.

Requirements

• Current student enrolled at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).
• Academic background aligned with the department’s area of focus.
• Strong problem-solving, communication, and presentation skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

Nice To Haves

• Pursuing a degree in Industrial Design or a related field.
• Prior internship or coursework in design, innovation, or process improvement.
• Familiarity with Lean, Six Sigma, PDCA, or other improvement methodologies.
• Understanding of human factors engineering, systems thinking, or service design principles.
• Proficiency with design and prototyping tools (e.g., SolidWorks, Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, or similar) and 3D Printing experience.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with clinicians, patients, and the Performance Excellence team to identify design opportunities within clinical and operational workflows.
• Translate user needs into physical and digital product concepts, experience prototypes, and system-level solutions.
• Create sketches, renderings, models, and prototypes (from low to high fidelity) to communicate and test ideas.
• Lead or participate in human-centered design research, including contextual inquiry, ethnographic studies, and usability testing.
• Iterate designs based on feedback from cross-disciplinary stakeholders such as medical staff and patients.
• Support the end-to-end design process from research and ideation through prototyping, evaluation, and implementation.
• Ensure all designs comply with healthcare standards, including infection control and accessibility guidelines.
• Stay current on emerging trends in healthcare design, medical devices, and human factors engineering.

Benefits

• The listed base pay range is a good faith representation of current potential base pay for a successful full time applicant. It may be modified in the future and eligible for additional pay components. Pay is determined by factors including experience, relevant qualifications, specialty, internal equity, location, and contracts.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: No Education Listed