Design Intern
Busco
Design Intern
Department: Brand & Design
Reports To: Chief Executive Officer
Employment Type: Internship
Schedule: 25–30 hours per week
Location: Remote (Hybrid in Charlottesville, VA, if local)
Duration: Summer 2026
Compensation: Unpaid (stipend anticipated post-funding close)
About Busco
Busco is a proximity-based event discovery and analytics platform. We help people find what is happening around them in real time, and we help cities, universities, and local businesses understand the economic and cultural pulse of their communities.
Position Summary
Busco is looking for a Design Intern who genuinely loves the craft. The kind of person who notices typography on a restaurant menu, has opinions about color, and follows designers the way other people follow athletes. This is a digital design role focused on brand, marketing, and visual identity work, with opportunities to extend into UX and UI for those interested. We want someone whose taste and sensibility shows up in everything they make.
Key Responsibilities
- Design brand assets, marketing collateral, social graphics, and event materials
- Help evolve Busco's visual identity system as the brand grows
- Collaborate with marketing and product teams on campaigns and product launches
- Contribute to UX and UI work on the Busco platform when interest and skill align
- Share your perspective in critiques and bring fresh references to the team
Required Qualifications
- Portfolio required, demonstrating a clear and considered point of view
- Strong proficiency in Figma and one or more Adobe Creative Suite tools
- A demonstrated affinity for visual culture across art, fashion, design, or architecture
- Comfort giving and receiving feedback in a collaborative environment
- Currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program
Preferred Qualifications
- Background or coursework in UX/UI or product design
- Experience designing for both digital and print contexts
- Motion design or basic illustration skills
- Interest in cities, local commerce, or cultural events
What You Will Gain
- Real creative ownership over work that ships to a public audience
- Mentorship from Busco's founding team and design partners
- A meaningful body of portfolio work tied to a venture-backed startup
- Exposure to how design decisions intersect with product, brand, and growth
Our Team and Culture
Our culture is friendly, kind, and highly effective. We do not turn in bad work. We do not miss deadlines. And we ask for help when we need it. We operate asynchronously, which means your weekly hours are yours to manage, and we trust you to deliver. We practice horizontal leadership, which means every voice is encouraged to speak up regardless of title or tenure. As a pre-seed company, priorities can shift quickly, and the best teammates here are those who stay flexible, communicate openly, and treat ambiguity as an invitation rather than an obstacle. Sometimes an intern is the most informed person in the room on a given topic, and that is genuinely welcome here. We are all learning together.
Position Logistics
- Schedule: 25 to 30 hours per week
- Location: Remote, with hybrid flexibility for candidates local to Charlottesville, Virginia
- Duration: Summer 2026
- Compensation: Unpaid, with a stipend anticipated upon the close of our current funding round. We are happy to coordinate with your home institution if it offers funding or academic credit for unpaid internships.
- Eligibility: Open to undergraduate and graduate students
How to Apply
Submit your resume, a brief note about why this role interests you, and any relevant work samples or portfolios to help.busco@gmail.com We review applications on a rolling basis and encourage early submissions.
Equal Opportunity
Busco is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a team that reflects a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for this role without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.