Universal Products & Experiences, Product Design & Character Art Internships – Summer 2025
Job Description
Summer 2025 Internship Program:
Applications Close: December 13th at 11:59pm ET. Pro Tip: Submit your application as soon as possible – applications could close earlier due to applicant volume!
Program Dates: June 2 – August 8, 2025
Time Commitment: 40 hours per week. Exact schedule to be determined based on business need.
Format: Opportunities listed will require an intern to work from Universal City, CA.
To Apply:
Submit a one-page resume that outlines your work experience, accomplishments, and your graduation month and year.
Submit a cover letter that highlights your passion for NBCUniversal, the locations (listed below) you are open to for internships, and your top areas of interest (opportunities listed below).
Upload a transcript (unofficial transcripts are fine) that confirms your status as an actively enrolled student in a degree-granting program.
Universal Products & Experiences (UP&E) globally drives the expansion and elevation of NBCUniversal’s iconic collection of brands, intellectual properties, characters, and stories based on the company’s extensive portfolio of properties created by Universal Pictures, Illumination, DreamWorks Animation, and NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. The division executes this through innovative physical and digital products, engaging retail and product experiences across our expansive global theme park destinations (for both owned and third-party IP), location-based venues, e-commerce product platforms, and retailers around the world. Along with global brand strategy and creative, UP&E’s three lines of business include Consumer Products, Games and Digital Platforms, and Theme Parks Products & Retail. UP&E is a division of Universal Destinations & Experiences, part of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
Areas of placement may include, but are not limited to:
Character Art, Brand Creative: The Character Art intern will support the Brand Creative department, touching on a variety of responsibilities including: the creation of illustrations and concepts for visualization, presentation, and style guide development purposes; research and reference gathering of images and content; and general art support across all of our products. This intern will also be involved in work such as drawing and painting digitally to create design sketches and final illustrations (characters, creatures, sets, and vehicles), developing character concept visuals, generating precise 2D character turns as templates for final 3D geometry, and generating production-level content for use in style guides.
Design Fashion, Product Design Studio: The Product Design Studio Intern will assist in the Design for the Product Design Studio. This role provides an in-depth overview of Product Design & Development within the UP&E organization and a solid understanding of the wider business. The Design intern will be working with a wide variety of internal Global teams in our offices including the Design Team, Product Development Team, Operations, Toy Team, Category, Retail, Brand Creative, and Legal teams. This role will have exposure to areas including: presentations, trends, and insights; product concept to mock-ups; digital production; product development; and AV. By taking part in the relationship between the Product Design team and Category & Retail, this intern will have access to tools and skills related to communicating and presenting within the entertainment industry. They will also gain confidence and an improved understanding of the Product Design and storytelling processes, as well as learn how to work effectively within a team and how to build business relationships and influencing skills.
Design Toys, Product Design Studio: The Toy Intern will help deliver the best product play experience for our consumers through unique and innovative play. This team is looking for an individual with strong conceptual thinking across product categories. The candidate will have great illustration and product design skills, demonstrate proactiveness about creating and sharing new ideas, possess a passion for discovering innovative solutions, and consistently seek creative ways to tackle challenges. Responsibilities will include: partnering with Parks’ MPD (Merchant Product Development) team, Franchise teams, Studios, and Asia counterparts to ensure vendors and factories have all the information and tools needed to deliver compelling and on-model products, as well as creating concept sketches, Illustrator art, mood boards, and assets for presentations.
Qualifications
Basic Requirements:
Must be actively enrolled in a degree-granting program at an accredited institution during the entire duration of the program (June 2025 through August 2025). May 2025 graduates are not eligible for our Summer 2025 Internship Program.
Current class standing of sophomore or above (30 credits).
Must be presently authorized to work for any employer in the United States and must not require work visa sponsorship from NBCUniversal now or in the future to retain authorization to work in the United States.
Must be willing to work in Universal City, CA.
For further clarification, candidates currently on any student or exchange visa (e.g. F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, J-1, M-1) are not eligible to apply unless they will be able to change or adjust to another status that grants work authorization without NBCUniversal sponsorship.
NBCUniversal is an E-Verify company, requiring all employees to have an active Social Security number. Any candidate receiving an internship offer must complete I-9 form with Social Security number within 3 days of hire.
Desired Characteristics:
Students with class standing of junior or above preferred.
Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above.
Strong communication and presentation skills with a creative mindset.
For Character Art: Fluency in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator; Broad understanding of character design and development; Strong understanding of anatomy and perspective concepts; Familiarity with Animation process and Storytelling as a medium.
For Design, Fashion: Major in Graphic, Design, New-Media Design, or Fashion Design preferred; Familiarity with Mac and Adobe software including Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign; Familiarity with Keynote and Microsoft software.
For Design, Toys: Skills in CS Suite, 3D software (a plus), and all relevant software for product design & development, including Keynote for presentations.
The hourly rate for student interns is $17.50.
Additional Information
As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with an NBCUniversal employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision.
NBCUniversal's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.
NBCUniversal will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories, or arrest or conviction records, in a manner consistent with relevant legal requirements, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative For Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, where applicable.
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