Product Development, Design & Consumer Insights Intern Opportunities

SharkNinja•Needham, MA

5d•$26 - $35•Hybrid

About The Position

SharkNinja is a global product design and technology company with a diversified portfolio of lifestyle solutions. This is a single application for product development, design, and consumer insights early talent roles across SharkNinja. The hiring teams are spread across our product development, industrial and experience design, culinary, consumer insights, and consumer experience functions. Whichever team you join, you’ll work on real products and real launches alongside people who have shipped them before. You might be sketching a concept that becomes a hero product, specifying the exact color and finish a consumer sees on the shelf, running usability sessions on a connected app, testing recipes to prove out what an appliance can really do, digging into field feedback to close a consumer pain point, or synthesizing research into the recommendation that changes a product’s direction. If you’re curious, consumer-obsessed, hands-on, and ready to make an impact from day one, we want to hear from you! Teams that you can be connected to through this posting include: Product Development (Shark, Ninja, and Beauty), Ninja Test Kitchen / Culinary Development, Industrial Design, CMF (Color, Material & Finish) Design, UX/UI Design, Consumer Insights, Customer Experience & Product Support.

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
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
Developing user-relevant design targets for product performance and user experience — human factors, touchpoints, KPIs, and Consumer Satisfaction Indicators — and championing them to engineers, industrial designers, and commercial marketers
Acting as a product “expert” for cross-functional questions, and assisting with new product setups, product information management, and competitive landscape development
Supporting 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
Building customer personas and journey maps, identifying whitespace opportunities and consumer pain points, and monitoring competitors and market trends to inform positioning
Supporting the post-purchase consumer journey — replacement component specifications, self-service content, and consumer-facing artwork assets
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
Recording test results accurately and synthesizing insights into stories that influence brand, product, and executive strategy
Translating consumer insights into bold, user-centered design solutions through sketches, illustrations, and high-fidelity renderings
Creating product designs in SolidWorks or Rhino, producing renderings in KeyShot, and collaborating with Engineering to deliver clean, production-ready CAD files
Specifying the full look and feel of a product — surface finish, color, material, texture, and branding — and creating, tracking, and maintaining color specifications (ID SPECS)
Developing 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
Supporting UI design, icon design, and rating/warning label creation, and interacting daily with the APAC manufacturing team, suppliers, and the Compliance team
Creating wireframes, interactive prototypes, and visual design specs in Figma, Adobe XD, or Sketch for mobile app and embedded UI experiences
Participating in usability testing, maintaining and evolving design systems for cross-platform consistency, and designing for accessibility, responsiveness, and internationalization
Building visual and functional prototypes, and exploring emerging trends, new materials, and future-forward aesthetics