Product Development, Design & Consumer Insights Intern Opportunities

SharkNinja•Needham, MA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

SharkNinja is a global product design and technology company focused on creating lifestyle solutions. They are building an AI-native culture and offer an 'Early Edge Experience' for early career talent, including internships. This program provides exposure to the industry, meaningful projects, professional development, and networking opportunities. This single application covers roles in product development, industrial and experience design, culinary, consumer insights, and consumer experience. Interns will work on real products and launches, contributing to various stages of the product lifecycle, from concept sketching and specification to usability testing and recipe development. The company seeks curious, consumer-obsessed, and hands-on individuals ready to make an impact.

Requirements

Current student in a related bachelor's or master’s or PhD program or has graduated from such a program within the past year — Industrial Design, Product Design, UX/UI or Interaction Design, Mechanical Engineering, Marketing, Market Research, Psychology or Sociology, Culinary Arts or Food Science, Business, Communications, or similar.
Must be able to work a full-time, 40-hour-per-week onsite-hybrid schedule; specific location and number of onsite days vary by team and term.
A consumer-first perspective and real curiosity about how people actually use products in their homes.
Strong visual and verbal storytelling — you can present an idea, explain the thinking behind it, and take feedback well.
Meticulous attention to detail, and the discipline to hold onto it under tight deadlines.
Strong organizational and project management instincts; comfortable juggling multiple projects and shifting priorities.
Hands-on and resourceful — willing to build the rough version, test it, and iterate.
Able to synthesize complex or messy input into clear, actionable recommendations.
Collaborative and positive in brainstorms, critiques, and reviews.
Proficient in Microsoft 365, particularly PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook.

Nice To Haves

Prior internship, co-op, studio, kitchen, research, or personal project experience is a strong asset.
CAD and 3D: SolidWorks, Creo, or Rhino; rendering in KeyShot.
Adobe Creative Suite: Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop.
Design and prototyping tools: Figma, Adobe XD, or Sketch.
Prototyping and shop competency: 3D printing, machine shop equipment, building in plastic and metal.
Color and materials standards: Pantone, NCS, SPI, YickSang, Mold-Tech; interest in color communication toward international standards.
Basic understanding of electronics commonly used in small appliances (motors, sensors, PCBAs).
Accessibility best practices and responsive design principles; interest in connected consumer products, smart home technology, or IoT ecosystems.
Coursework in market research, consumer insights, psychology, sociology, or related social sciences.
Prior experience in food service, recipe testing, or culinary R&D.
Project tracking and file management tools such as Asana, Monday, Airtable, Box, or SharePoint.
Work samples: If you’re interested in a design role — Industrial Design, CMF, or UX/UI — please include a portfolio that demonstrates your design process, not just your finished work. You can link it in your resume or attach it in the cover letter field. A portfolio is not required for consideration for Product Development, Ninja Test Kitchen, Consumer Insights, or Customer Experience & Product Support.

Responsibilities

Contribute to real product launches across Shark, Ninja, and Beauty, from early research and concepting through to shelf.
Translate consumer insights into product and design decisions that shape what actually gets built.
Bring ideas to life through sketches, renderings, prototypes, wireframes, and design specifications.
Conduct hands-on product testing and competitive research, and document findings that influence design direction.
Present your work and the thinking behind it to cross-functional partners and design leads — and incorporate their feedback.
Collaborate across Product Development, Industrial Design, Engineering, Marketing, Consumer Insights, and Product Management.
Gain exposure to the full product development cycle, solving simultaneously for performance, cost, and delight.
Own a meaningful project end to end and present your contributions to SharkNinja leaders.
Develop user-relevant design targets for product performance and user experience — human factors, touchpoints, KPIs, and Consumer Satisfaction Indicators — and champion them to engineers, industrial designers, and commercial marketers.
Act as a product “expert” for cross-functional questions, and assisting with new product setups, product information management, and competitive landscape development.
Support qualitative and quantitative research, designing and refining research tools such as surveys and discussion guides, and translating unmet and latent needs into clear recommendations for new products and features.
Build customer personas and journey maps, identifying whitespace opportunities and consumer pain points, and monitoring competitors and market trends to inform positioning.
Support the post-purchase consumer journey — replacement component specifications, self-service content, and consumer-facing artwork assets.
Conduct culinary testing and hero recipe development alongside food scientists and research chefs, evaluating performance and quality for launches such as the Ninja Creami, Crispi, and Luxe Café.
Record test results accurately and synthesizing insights into stories that influence brand, product, and executive strategy.
Translate consumer insights into bold, user-centered design solutions through sketches, illustrations, and high-fidelity renderings.
Create product designs in SolidWorks or Rhino, producing renderings in KeyShot, and collaborating with Engineering to deliver clean, production-ready CAD files.
Specify the full look and feel of a product — surface finish, color, material, texture, and branding — and creating, tracking, and maintaining color specifications (ID SPECS).
Develop color palette proposals targeted for different retailers, organizing supplier CMF samples into a material library, and working to standards such as Pantone, NCS, SPI, YickSang, and Mold-Tech.
Support UI design, icon design, and rating/warning label creation, and interacting daily with the APAC manufacturing team, suppliers, and the Compliance team.
Create wireframes, interactive prototypes, and visual design specs in Figma, Adobe XD, or Sketch for mobile app and embedded UI experiences.
Participate in usability testing, maintaining and evolving design systems for cross-platform consistency, and designing for accessibility, responsiveness, and internationalization.
Build visual and functional prototypes, and exploring emerging trends, new materials, and future-forward aesthetics.