UX Design Internship · Enterprise · Sept–Dec 2019
BlackBerry UX Design Internship
A 4-month User Experience Design Internship working on SecuSuite — BlackBerry's secure enterprise calling and messaging mobile application for governments and regulated industries.
Waterloo, Ontario — four months at BlackBerry
I relocated to Waterloo, Ontario in September 2019 to work at BlackBerry, which creates software solutions focused on endpoint management and protection, secure communications, and enabling the Internet of Things. I worked on the Mobile Apps & Suite team, specifically on SecuSuite — a secure enterprise and government calling and messaging mobile application.
Designing with familiar patterns
Working within the constraints of pixel-based design across screen sizes deepened my understanding of how design decisions cascade across devices. I applied Android Material Design and Apple's iOS Human Interface Guidelines to ensure a more cohesive visual and interaction design pattern across platforms.
This was also my first real exposure to colour contrast as an accessibility requirement — not just an aesthetic consideration — within a compliance-sensitive product environment where WCAG compliance was non-negotiable.
Collaborating across cross-functional teams
Working alongside developers and Product Managers in Scrum sprints showed me the real weight of "design is 50% communication." I learned to translate design decisions into language that resonated with engineering constraints, and to balance ideal UX outcomes with what was technically feasible within sprint timelines.
Participating in Scrum reviews and standups gave me a front-row seat to how product decisions get made in a real organization — and how designers can advocate for user needs within that structure.
Some members of my amazing UX Team & Mentors at BlackBerry!
Design is 50% communication
The BlackBerry internship was formative in shaping how I think about enterprise UX. Designing for government and regulated industries means that security and usability aren't opposites — they require more creative problem-solving to coexist. Every design decision had compliance implications alongside user experience ones.
I left with a much sharper sense of how to navigate ambiguity, advocate for design within cross-functional teams, and deliver thoughtful work under real-world constraints.
