Verizon Media
Accessibility & User Experience (UX) Intern
About Verizon Media
Verizon Media is a values-led company committed to building brands people love. We reach over one billion people around the world with a dynamic house of 50+ media and technology brands such as Yahoo properties including Mail, News, Finance, and Sports as well as AOL, HuffPost, TechCrunch and others. An international leader in digital and mobile, Verizon Media is transforming the future of media and entertainment.
About the Accessibility Team
At Verizon Media we aim to create an inclusive experience for our over 12,000 employees and more than 1 billion users including those with disabilities. At the heart of this work is Verizon Media’s Accessibility Team which consists of internationally recognized leaders in the field of accessibility. The Accessibility Team works side by side with our product group engineers to build best-in-class products and video content that are also fully accessible and a joy to use. The team partners closely with our People teams to make Verizon Media a place where employees with disabilities can grow, compete and succeed and they partner with our Marketing and Communications teams to ensure people with disabilities are represented in our marketing and communications.
The Accessibility Team raises the bar in the industry by participating in and contributing to Accessibility advisory councils, public policy and standards bodies and guidelines including W3C WCAG and the FCC Disability Advisory Committee. The Accessibility Team co-founded TeachAccess.org which brought together leading companies and academic institutions to define the tech industry’s best practices for the teaching of accessibility principles which are now changing the way accessibility is being taught in higher education. The team was also instrumental in the creation of The Disability Collection with Getty Images and the National Disability Leadership Alliance.
Overview of the role
The Accessibility UX Intern will have a hands-on position that will directly support various Accessibility Team activities that improve the accessibility and usability of products, including engaging product teams to implement user feedback obtained through studies, customer care, surveys, and other methods of capturing data. The ideal candidate will possess strong academic training and some experience executing user studies and research projects with people with disabilities. Previous experience in a corporate environment is a plus.
Responsibilities
The Accessibility UX Intern will be responsible for owning the user experience as it relates to Verizon Media’s products and people with disabilities, especially those that use assistive technologies. Core functions of the internship include but are not limited to:
● User studies (75%)
o Conduct user studies, surveys, and interviews with people with disabilities
on web, mobile web, and app products on a regular basis
o Write summaries and reports of user studies that will be shared with other
researchers and with product teams
o Support recruiting and logistics for conducting user studies in partnership
with other members of the Accessibility Team
o Manage participant data, ensuring sensitive information about users are
stored in a manner consistent with Verizon Media’s privacy policy and in
accordance to HIPAA regulations
o Help inspire and influence products and experiences that become a
meaningful part of the daily lives of Verizon Media’s users
● Customer care (10%)
o Review and log customer care escalations which oftentimes channel
feedback that requires technical fixes to a product
o Address anonymous feedback from customers via internal tools as well as
App Store and Google Play
o Use scientific methods to detect patterns from user feedback received,
based on product and the prevalence of accessibility defects reported
● The Accessibility Lab (10%)
o Support the Lab Manager in education and training efforts on accessibility
such as hosting new hires or external groups for tours on occasion
o Provide logistical and technical support for training and presentations at
Accessibility conferences and events
● Marketing (5%)
o Coordinate accessibility Marketing and Events projects with
cross-functional teams, including project initiation, stakeholder reviews of
content and creative deliverables, with an emphasis on stories captured
during interviews and user studies
Work Location
The contract position will be based in the New York City office, 770 Broadway.
Preferred Qualifications
● Master’s or Doctor of Philosophy degree in progress, with a strong academic
performance (minimum GPA 3.5)
● Preferred majors: User Experience, Design, Human Factors, HCI, Cognitive Science,
Psychology, Anthropology, or related field
● Some experience planning, conducting, analyzing, and presenting the results of UX
research with various methodologies, experience conducting studies with people
with disabilities is a plus
● Solid knowledge of social science and/or design research methods, and the ability to
apply them to real-world practical problems
● Proven ability to maintain positive relationships with teams and forms individual
relationships with similar levels
● Insatiable curiosity about the why behind the what, a keen eye for spotting “aha!”
moments in the field and in the data, passion for all digital experiences, and a
commitment to growing and developing as a researcher
● Ability to work independently and flexibility to adapt to rapid change while keeping a
positive attitude and an open mind
● A collaborative team spirit and effective written and verbal communication skills
● Knowledge and experience with assistive technology, disability education, and/or
digital accessibility
● Demonstrated interest in accessibility, disability, diversity and inclusion
● Bonus points: knowledge of innovation/early stage design research methods,
knowledge and experience with interaction design tools, and front end Web
development, and familiarity with usability lab and video recording equipment
For more information and/or to submit a cover letter and resume, contact Gary Moulton
at Verizon Media (garymo@verizonmedia.com)
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, and will
not be discriminated against based on, race, gender, color, religion, national origin, sexual
orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or other protected category.
Submission of this information is voluntary and refusal to provide it will not subject you to any
adverse treatment.
