Intern/Co-op - UX / UI Design at Consumers Energy in MULTIPLE LOCATIONS, MI

Join the diverse and dynamic team that powers Michigan's largest energy provider and one of the nation's largest gas and electric combination utilities. Consumers Energy services 6.8 million of Michigan's 10 million residents - caring for our friends and neighbors in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties. We embrace a cleaner and leaner utility vision focused on eliminating energy waste and adding renewable energy from sources such as wind and solar.

Consumers Energy Employee Referrals:

If you are a Consumers Energy employee that would like to refer an applicant to this position, please visit your Workforce Connect home page and utilize the "Refer Friends and Family" section.

Why you should join our team

Consumers Energy provides challenging, exciting work that will expand your thinking and help you gain invaluable experience in the energy sector. This internship program is geared toward current college students who have a passion for UX design and optimizing digital experiences. Digital Customer Operations is at the forefront of defining and delivering on how customers experience the Consumers Energy brand with over 80% of customer interactions occurring on our website or Mobile Application. The team works collaboratively in an agile environment and applies user-centered design thinking and techniques to create engaging interfaces that make the user experience intuitive. This flexible role will be mostly remote with the occasional team up with your digital colleagues at the Consumers Energy Innovation Center or Corporate Headquarters in Jackson, MI. That cadence may amount to 1/month.

What you will do

The UX intern in the Digital Customer Operations group will work collaboratively in an agile environment to deliver intuitive, best in class digital experiences, with an emphasis on mobile web. You will apply your human-centered design knowledge to reduce friction and streamline engagement for customers on ConsumersEnergy.com. In this role, you will be exposed to a wide range of energy industry issues critical to the company's continued success. You will be continually given opportunities to enhance your creativity, business acumen, interpersonal skills, and leadership.

The individual(s) selected for this role will support team members with these duties:

Translating broad ideas, customer feedback along with business and functional requirements, and wireframe prototype concepts into design flows and user interfaces.
Creation of simple and responsive designs & web components under technology and time constraints, working closely with development team to deliver final product.
Assisting with the creation and maintenance of the CE design system in using Figma
Helping create and analyze user tests with Usertesting.com
Create high and low fidelity prototypes to support rapid design iteration and A/B testing.
Advocate on behalf of the customer throughout research, design, and development.

The successful candidate for this positionwill be focused on identifying opportunities for improvement and providing analysis on different user flows, with these attributes:

Excellence in defining user flows, interaction patterns, and complete product experiences that align with user needs.
Knowledge of design systems, data platforms, and UX delivered through multiple devices (mobile-first)
Dual Minded approach: You're highly creative, but also data-driven, relying on data and insights to make decisions.
Self-motivated with a great work ethic
Curious Learner- Staying current with digital trends and best practices- IoT, embedded and emerging tech
Comfortable in both team environment and working independently
Practical and analytical, good problem-solving ability
Creative and able to think outside the box

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are selected for a phone interview you will be asked which areas in Digital Customer Operationsmost interest you. Opportunities could include summer2024Internships, fall or spring co-op, part-time year-round co-op, etc.

Due to the nature of this posting, and alignment to recruitment season, applications will be collected from January through February of 2025.Response to your application may be delayed due to the extended application period. The best way to stand out will be to visit us on a virtual platform this year or through a company held networking event.

We encourage you to apply if you possess the following:

Enrolled and actively pursuing a bachelor's or master's degree in User Experience Design, or a similar field.

You have a bachelors degree in progress with a minimum GPA requirement for this internship position is 3.0

Must be able to provide a portfolio of work.

Locations for the positions are various including but not limited toGR/Jackson/Saginaw/Alma

For consideration, please remember to upload your College Transcript(s) [official OR unofficial] and supporting documentationinto the "Supporting Documents" section of your application.

Hours and Travel
Meet travel requirements of the position. Work a flexible schedule.

Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, and use hands to handle or feel objects. The employee frequently is required to talk and hear. The employee must lift and move up to twenty pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Diversity Equity and Inclusion

We, at CMS Energy, value Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. It is part of our DNA. We treat our employees with respect, we treat each other fairly and we value the opinions of others. We are passionate about building and nurturing an environment where everyone feels included. We don't discriminate. We seek to learn about each other and better understand our unique differences. Our uniqueness makes us authentic. We create safe spaces where everyone can be who they truly are. We invite difficult conversations and uncomfortable topics. We value diverse perspectives; this is what makes us great together. We harbor an inclusive environment where employees feel empowered to share their backgrounds, experiences, and ideas. Our Employee Resource Groups, Women's Advisory Panel (WAP), Women's Engineering Network (WEN), Minority Advisory Panel (MAP), Pride Alliance of Consumers Energy (PACE), GENERGY, capable, Interfaith and Veterans Advisory Panel (VAP) are key enablers to living the values of our company culture: Caring, Empowered, Deliberate, Agility, and Ownership.

All qualified applicants will not be discriminated against and will receive consideration for employment without regard to protected veteran status, disability, race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.

Job Segment: User Experience, Summer Internship, Data, Technology, Entry Level, Operations

Why should you join our team?

At Consumers Energy, we offer more than just a place to work. We foster a culture that supports career development, growth, and stability, and we take pride in offering our co-workers excellent benefits and compensation packages. We are deliberately creating an inclusive culture that makes our diverse team of co-workers feel valued, supported, and empowered every day. We're a company made up of thousands of people, all with different stories to share and work to do, but we stand united in our company purpose: world class performance delivering hometown service.

What we offer:

Competitive compensation packages
Medical, Dental and Vision
401k with company match
Paid parental leave
Up to 13 paid Holidays
Paid time off
Educational Assistance Program

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:

We, at CMS Energy, value Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. It is part of our DNA. We treat our employees with respect, we treat each other fairly and we value the opinions of others. We are passionate about building and nurturing an environment where everyone feels included. We don't discriminate. We seek to learn about each other and better understand our unique differences. Our uniqueness makes us authentic. We create safe spaces where everyone can be who they truly are. We invite difficult conversations and uncomfortable topics. We value diverse perspectives; this is what makes us great together. We harbor an inclusive environment where employees feel empowered to share their backgrounds, experiences, and ideas. Our Employee Resource Groups, Women's Advisory Panel (WAP), Women's in Energy (WE), Minority Advisory Panel (MAP), Pride Alliance of Consumers Energy (PACE), GENERGY, capable, Interfaith and Veterans Advisory Panel (VAP) are key enablers to living the values of our company culture: Caring, Empowered, Deliberate, Agility, and Ownership.