Rochester Regional Health Co-op Opportunity: Design Thinking

In Partnership with Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

Location: Rochester, NY 

Program Type: Co-op (RIT students only)

Team: Performance Excellence

Schedule: Double-block co-op starting in January 2027; in-person, M-F days (full-time availability needed)

Focus Areas: Human-Centered Design, Innovation, Process Improvement, and Operational Analytics 

Key Responsibilities 

• Collaborate with clinicians, patients, and the Performance Excellence team to identify design opportunities within clinical and operational workflows. 

• Translate user needs into physical and digital product concepts, experience prototypes, and system-level solutions. 

• Create sketches, renderings, models, and prototypes (from low to high fidelity) to communicate and test ideas. 

• Lead or participate in human-centered design research, including contextual inquiry, ethnographic studies, and usability testing. 

• Iterate designs based on feedback from cross-disciplinary stakeholders such as medical staff and patients. 

• Support the end-to-end design process from research and ideation through prototyping, evaluation, and implementation. 

• Ensure all designs comply with healthcare standards, including infection control and accessibility guidelines. 

• Stay current on emerging trends in healthcare design, medical devices, and human factors engineering. 

Qualifications 

Required: 

• Current student enrolled at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). 

• Academic background aligned with the department’s area of focus. 

Preferred: 

• Pursuing a degree in Industrial Design or a related field. 

• Prior internship or coursework in design, innovation, or process improvement. 

• Familiarity with Lean, Six Sigma, PDCA, or other improvement methodologies. 

• Understanding of human factors engineering, systems thinking, or service design principles. 

• Proficiency with design and prototyping tools (e.g., SolidWorks, Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, or similar) and 3D Printing experience.

• Strong problem-solving, communication, and presentation skills. 

• Ability to manage multiple projects and thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.