Introduction

In this role, you'll work in one of our IBM Consulting FutureNow Centers, where we deliver deep technical and industry expertise to a wide range of public and private sector clients around the world. Our delivery centers offer our clients locally based skills and technical expertise to drive innovation and adoption of new technology.

As an Associate, at IBM, you'll work with clients to help solve real-world business challenges through technology, innovation, and consulting.

From day one, you'll gain hands-on experience on real client projects while receiving professional and technical mentorship, career coaching, and access to certification opportunities.

At IBM, AI is part of how we deliver solutions, accelerate development, analyze data, automate business processes, and help clients solve complex business challenges. You'll also develop the consulting, communication, and collaboration skills needed to work effectively with clients and multidisciplinary teams throughout your career.

Your Role And Responsibilities

As an Associate Designer at IBM, you'll help organizations reimagine how people interact with products, services, and brands through compelling visual design and human-centered thinking. You'll contribute to the creation of digital experiences that are not only beautiful but intuitive, inclusive, and aligned to real business outcomes.

No two projects are exactly alike — you could support clients across healthcare, financial services, retail, automotive, energy, manufacturing, or the public sector. You'll gain hands-on project experience, professional and technical mentoring, career coaching, industry-recognized certifications, and exposure to emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence and automation.

Your journey is unique, and so is your career path. As you begin your career at IBM, you'll be aligned to the design specialty that best matches business needs, your academic background, skills, and career interests. You do not need experience in every listed tool or discipline.

Through structured learning, mentorship, certifications, and hands-on client projects, you'll build specialized design expertise while developing the consulting, communication, and collaborative skills needed to solve complex human and business challenges.

Work Experiences You Will Contribute To

Visual Design & Systems Thinking: Create visual assets, UI components, design systems, and brand-aligned experiences for enterprise digital products. Apply typography, color theory, layout, and accessibility best practices to deliver polished, consistent interfaces.
Human-Centered Research & Synthesis: Support user research activities including interviews, usability testing, journey mapping, and persona development. Translate research findings into actionable design insights that inform product strategy and client recommendations.
Prototyping & Iteration: Design and iterate on wireframes, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups using industry-standard tools. Present design concepts and rationale to clients and cross-functional teams, incorporating feedback to continuously improve solutions.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work alongside experienced designers, strategists, developers, and client stakeholders within Agile delivery teams. Participate in design reviews, workshops, and co-creation sessions to ensure human-centered design thinking is embedded throughout the project lifecycle.
AI-Enabled Design Practice: Explore how Artificial Intelligence and automation tools are shaping the future of design — from AI-assisted content generation and personalization to accessible, data-driven experience design at scale.

To give yourself the best opportunity for success, we advise applying only to roles that align with your skills and experience, rather than applying broadly across all entry-level positions. You’ll receive a status update email for each application, so be sure to check your IBM Careers account regularly — it’s the best way to get a centralized view of which roles you have active applications against.

Preferred Education

Bachelor's Degree

Required Technical And Professional Expertise

Currently completing or recently completed a Bachelor's degree in Design, Visual Communication, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, Graphic Design, Digital Media, or a related field.
Demonstrated ability to apply design principles including typography, color, layout, and visual hierarchy to create clear, compelling, and user-centered digital experiences through coursework, personal projects, internships, or extracurricular work.
Experience working with design and prototyping tools such as Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, or similar platforms through academic projects, internships, or self-directed learning.
Foundational understanding of user experience (UX) design principles, human-centered design methodologies, and how design decisions impact the end-user experience.
Strong visual communication and storytelling skills — ability to present design concepts clearly and compellingly to both peers and stakeholders.
Strong analytical thinking, collaborative mindset, and curiosity to solve complex problems at the intersection of human behavior, technology, and business strategy.
Experience gained through academic projects, internships, design competitions, student organizations, freelance work, or personal creative projects that demonstrate craft and design thinking.

You don't need to be an expert to get started. We're looking for individuals with a strong foundation, a growth mindset, and a desire to learn and make an impact.

Bring your curiosity. Grow your skills. Build what's next — like an IBMer.

Preferred Technical And Professional Experience

Exposure to enterprise design systems, accessibility standards (WCAG), or inclusive design principles through coursework, personal projects, or internship experience.
Familiarity with front-end concepts (HTML/CSS basics) and how design decisions translate into technical implementation, supporting stronger collaboration with development teams.
Interest in Artificial Intelligence, emerging design technologies, and how AI tools can enhance creativity, personalization, and experience design at scale.

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