Work Location Type: Hybrid

About Grainger:

W.W. Grainger, Inc., is a leading broad line distributor with operations primarily in North America, Japan and the United Kingdom. At Grainger, We Keep the World Working® by serving more than 4.5 million customers worldwide with products and solutions delivered through innovative technology and deep customer relationships. Known for its commitment to service and award-winning culture, the Company had 2024 revenue of $17.2 billion across its two business models. In the High-Touch Solutions segment, Grainger offers approximately 2 million maintenances, repair and operating (MRO) products and services, including technical support and inventory management. In the Endless Assortment segment, Zoro.com offers customers access to more than 14 million products, and MonotaRO.com offers more than 24 million products. For more information, visit www.grainger.com.  

Compensation:

This position is hourly, and the starting pay rate is $37/hour

The rate of pay provided above is not a guarantee of compensation. The rate reflects the expected base pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. 

Grainger reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion at any time, consistent with applicable law.  

Position Details:

This internship is a 10-week program based in our downtown Chicago office. You will work on the User Experience Research team, which is responsible for informing strategy, design, and development of Grainger’s enterprise applications and customer-facing experiences through user experience research. The UX Research team is organized within the User Experience team which also includes UX and UI designers.

The intern will partner with UX Researchers, designers, and end users to support critical technology initiatives. In addition to exciting projects, there will be time throughout the summer for networking, professional development, and social events.

The internship is paid, and free housing is provided in downtown Chicago.

You Will:

As a User Experience Research Intern, you will work closely with a Lead UX Researcher on research studies and workshops to support Grainger.com and digital tools used by Grainger team members. You will also contribute to key UX Research team operational tasks and projects for experience with the range of support work the team provides its

stakeholders and to help the team improve its processes. You will grow in both your research and workshop skills (including planning, facilitation, recruiting, data collection, analysis, and reporting) and soft skills (such as stakeholder management, participant relations, and effective presentation) and gain knowledge about how UX Research teams operate and our key partnerships within a large-scale e-commerce and B2B services company.

Learning Opportunities:

• Learn how UX Researchers partner with stakeholders, product management, designers, and end users to deliver critical insights for digital experience initiatives and improve experiences for customers and team members
• Develop an understanding of UX Research operations and ongoing stakeholder support efforts
• Gain experience and skills executing all stages of qualitative and mixed-method user research studies using a variety of methods such as interviews, usability testing, concept testing, surveys, and voice of customer feedback analysis.
• Utilize design thinking frameworks, workshop techniques, and user experience tools such as journey maps, service blueprinting, and user archetypes
• Gain experience conducting research, synthesizing findings, and presenting actionable insights for digital product teams within a complex B2B organization.
• Understand the larger Grainger business and how UX Research engagements contribute to the success of the company, team members, and customers

Responsibilities:

• Participate in planning discussions with stakeholders to understand user research needs and objectives
• Work alongside a Lead UX Researcher to plan and conduct user research studies, usability testing, and stakeholder workshops. Contribute to analysis and creation of persuasive and impactful research reports and presentations
• Work with the Sr. Mgr. UX Research & Measurement and other research team members on operational and stakeholder support tasks such as participant recruiting and Voice of Customer feedback analysis
• Contribute to the UX Research team’s internal projects to improve our operations and processes
• Network and build relationships with the broader UX team, product managers, design and data partners, and business stakeholders

You Have:

• Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Human-Centered Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Design/Product Design, Information Studies, or related fields with a focus on user research
• Targeted graduation date between Winter 2026 – Fall 2027
• An understanding of user-centered design principles, usability, and human subject research best practices
• Some experience with common user research methods, such as interviews, surveys, and task-based testing.
• Demonstrated interest in both evaluative and generative research methods
• Some experience with common user centered design frameworks to structure problem solving, planning, and insights and analysis
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills
• Professional demeanor and interpersonal skills suitable for interactions with Grainger customers and internal stakeholders.
• Initiative to proactively plan and execute work
• The ability to make thoughtful decisions and explain your rationale to others
• The ability to work in the US without visa sponsorship

 We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status or any other protected characteristic under federal, state, or local law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

We are also committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible work environment that includes both providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities during the application and hiring process as well as throughout the course of one’s employment, should you need a reasonable accommodation during the application and selection process, including, but not limited to use of our website, any part of the application, interview or hiring process, please advise us so that we can provide appropriate assistance.