UI Developer Internship — Financial District, Manhattan
We have an on-site internship opening for an Associate UI Developer in the Financial District, Manhattan, New York 10005, paying $3,500/month. Day-to-day, you'd move back and forth between two things: figuring out how a screen should work, and then writing the front-end code that makes it real. Most of the products this team works on are internal tools used by other departments in the company, which means you'll get direct feedback from the people using what you build rather than guessing at their needs from a distance.
What you'll be doing
The role touches the full arc of a feature, from the first sketch of an idea to watching a real user click through the finished version.
- Creating wireframes and prototypes for digital products, moving from a rough sketch to something clickable that a stakeholder can react to.
- Conducting user research, sitting in on interviews or usability sessions and pulling out the patterns that actually matter for a design decision.
- Refining designs based on feedback, whether that comes from a usability test, a product manager, or an engineer flagging that something isn't technically feasible as drawn.
- Collaborating closely with developers during implementation, handing off specs and staying involved until a feature ships correctly rather than throwing a file over a wall.
A typical week includes at least one session watching real users try to complete a task on something the team built. Watching someone get stuck on a button you thought was obvious is usually the fastest way to unlearn an assumption you didn't know you were making.
Who we're looking for
This role doesn't require prior professional experience. It does require a completed or nearly finished bachelor's degree, typically in design or human-computer interaction, along with a portfolio that shows real design thinking rather than just polished mockups. Final-year students are welcome, as long as the internship schedule works around remaining classes. Candidates from adjacent fields, psychology or a design-adjacent computer science track, for instance, are also considered as long as the portfolio demonstrates real user-centered thinking.
Skills needed
- HTML. Clean, semantic markup, not just enough to make a page render.
- CSS. Comfortable with modern layout approaches, including Flexbox and Grid, and able to translate a design file's spacing and typography accurately.
- JavaScript. Enough to handle basic interactivity and DOM manipulation without needing a framework crutch for everything.
- Responsive design. Building interfaces that hold up across screen sizes rather than designing for one viewport and hoping the rest works out.
- UI frameworks. Working familiarity with at least one, whether that's a component library or a full framework like React.
Extras that strengthen an application without being required: Figma fluency beyond the basics, experience running usability tests independently, and any exposure to accessibility standards like WCAG. We'd rather see one project carried from research through to a working prototype than a stack of polished but disconnected screens with no story behind them. Any prior use of a design system, even a small one you built yourself for a class project, is also a useful signal that you think about consistency beyond a single screen.
Compensation and what comes with it
The internship pays $3,500 a month and includes:
- Direct mentorship from a senior designer, with a standing weekly session for feedback and questions.
- A certificate of completion at the end of the term, along with a written performance summary.
- Genuine potential for a full-time offer, which is how several current team members originally started here.
- Employer-sponsored health coverage and 401(k) matching, both fairly standard for roles based in this office.
The team and setting
You'd join a design team of five working alongside three front-end engineers, all based in the same open office in the Financial District. Naukri Mitra lists this role alongside other design and development openings in the area, and the density of finance and fintech companies downtown means there's no shortage of UI developer jobs in New York for anyone weighing their options after this internship ends.
Design critiques happen twice a week and are direct. Nobody sugarcoats feedback here, though the tone stays constructive rather than harsh, and interns are expected to both give and receive that kind of critique like any other team member. The Financial District office itself is a short walk from several subway lines, which makes the commute manageable for interns coming from most parts of the city.
How to apply
Send a resume along with a portfolio link. We look specifically for process, not just final screens, so include at least one case study showing how a design evolved from an early idea to something shipped. The interview process has two stages: a portfolio review conversation with the design lead, and a short live design exercise where you'll sketch a solution to a small interface problem. The whole process typically takes about a week and a half, with both stages held in person at the Financial District office. If you're currently enrolled and can only interview around a class schedule, let us know when you apply, and we'll try to accommodate it.
