User Research Intern | Silicon Valley AI Startup (H1-26)

Phygtl, Inc.

7h•Remote

About The Position

Phygtl, a Silicon Valley-based AI startup, is building Vyry with the mission to cut student social isolation by up to 40% by replacing the awkward hello with shared, playful IRL quests and collaborative creation on campus, blending AI and AR into a new kind of consumer experience. If you’re the type of person who’s genuinely curious about why people behave the way they do—and you’re excited about AI + AR + gaming/social mechanics in mobile apps—you’ll feel at home here. As a User Research Intern, you’ll coordinate, run, and support qualitative research that shapes product decisions. You’ll learn how to plan sessions, moderate high-signal conversations, and turn messy qualitative input into crisp, usable insights. This role is hands-on, not watching from the sidelines.

Requirements

3rd/4th year student (Junior/Senior), 2nd year outliers
Fluent English; comfortable leading live conversations
Reliable follow-through (you hit deadlines and communicate early if blocked)
Curious by default: you naturally ask “why?” and you’re not afraid of silence
Remote-first execution: proactive communication, strong writing, self-management
Tools comfort (important)
Comfortable learning and using tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Asana, shared docs, and forms.
You’re genuinely excited about: AI and AR (and where consumer tech is heading) Gaming, social products, and mobile consumer apps Building a mission-driven product (not “another internship”)

Nice To Haves

Any facilitation background (clubs, tutoring/teaching, community leadership, RA/peer mentor, etc.)
Any qualitative research exposure (class projects count)
OpenClaw agentic process setup (agentic workflows/automation that speeds up research operations)

Responsibilities

Coordinate and moderate user research sessions (core)
Plan and facilitate focus groups and/or interviews using our guides and structure
Ask strong follow-ups (“ask, don’t tell”), stay neutral, and manage group dynamics
Keep sessions focused, respectful, and high-signal
Plan sessions with intention
Translate research goals into a discussion guide and session flow (templates provided)
Align questions to current product hypotheses and decisions
Deliver clean research outputs (required)
Leverage tech to transcript + structured summary (insights, quotes, implications, follow-ups)
Work like a remote-first teammate
Track tasks and deadlines in Asana
Share a short weekly update (what you ran, what you learned, what’s next, blockers)

Benefits

Skills that actually compound
Moderation reps + coaching (how to ask better questions, stay unbiased, and go deeper than surface opinions)
Synthesis practice: turning transcripts into patterns, insights, and recommendations
Stronger communication: writing and presenting findings clearly
Work alongside engineers, designers, and PMs
Unlock your entrepreneurial DNA by collaborating with the founders
Portfolio-ready proof
You’ll produce real research artifacts (sanitized summaries/insight memos you can reference in a portfolio)
Career clarity
You’ll learn what it’s like to work on a real consumer product where research directly changes decisions
Learn first-hand how to use LLMs, LWMs, and agents, skills that catapult you into your professional career
Work on technology addressing important social challenges.
Collaborate with a team experienced in academia and industry.
Flexible remote work environment