Summer Associate Internship (Instructional Designer)

Overview

Are you curious about how people learn, motivated by data, and eager to help improve real learning experiences? Join our team as a Summer Associate Instructional Designer and help us strengthen how we collect, interpret, and apply learner feedback to improve training effectiveness, knowledge transfer, and sustained performance.

About Our Team

We are a dynamic group of learning professionals, including instructional designers, trainers, content service specialist (technical writers) and learning solution architect, dedicated to unlocking the potential of every team member. Through creative design and strategic learning initiatives, we empower individuals and teams to reach new heights. As part of our mission, we blend technical expertise with the essential power skills everyone needs to succeed.

Your Role

As a Summer Associate Instructional Designer, you’ll be an essential part of our team for 12 weeks. This opportunity is designed for a student who may be early in their instructional design journey and may not yet have formal coursework in the field. You’ll receive guidance and mentorship while helping us organize feedback inputs, identify patterns, and translate insights into practical recommendations that improve our learning solutions.

The Summer Associate Program is a 12-week internship program beginning in May 2026 and ending in August 2026. Students will work on impactful projects and meaningful work during their internship. To qualify for this position, applicants must be currently pursuing a degree from an accredited college or university and have an anticipated graduation date of December 2027 or later.

Responsibilities

Why Join Us?

• Impactful Work: You’ll design solutions that make a real difference in people’s professional lives.

• Mentorship & Growth: Work alongside experienced instructional designers who will guide you, support your ideas, and help you grow.

• Innovation & Creativity: Experiment with the latest tools, eLearning technologies, and creative learning formats.

• Collaborative Spirit: Contribute to a team that values your voice and celebrates diversity of thought.

Potential Projects

• Feedback Framework Integration: Help collect, organize, and interpret feedback from surveys, learner comments, assessments, observations, and performance indicators to better understand what is working, where learners may need additional support, and how our learning solutions can improve.

• Learning Improvement Analysis: Review existing learning experiences and feedback data to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities that support stronger knowledge transfer, learner confidence, and sustained improvement after training.

• Insight-to-Action Recommendations: Partner with learning professionals to summarize findings, triangulate feedback across multiple data points, and present clear recommendations that help guide future course updates, coaching opportunities, and learning design decisions.

Responsibilities

• Collect and Organize Feedback: Gather learner feedback, assessment results, facilitator observations, and other available data points to help create a clearer picture of the learning experience.

• Analyze Patterns and Themes: Review feedback to identify common trends, learner pain points, strengths in the current learning experience, and opportunities for improvement.

• Support Feedback Framework Integration: Help apply our feedback framework to learning curriculum by connecting what learners say, how they perform, and where additional support may be needed.

• Translate Insights into Improvements: Work with instructional designers, facilitators, and learning leaders to turn feedback findings into actionable recommendations for improving content, delivery, practice activities, assessments, and learner support.

• Measure Learning Impact: Help evaluate how learning supports knowledge transfer, behavior change, and sustained improvement over time.

Qualifications

We are looking for a creative, curious, and analytical student who is interested in learning experience design, instructional design, data analysis, education, communications, psychology, business, or a related field. Formal instructional design coursework is helpful but not required.

• Evaluations: Interest in using feedback, surveys, assessments, and other data points to understand learner needs and recommend improvements

• Technology comfort: Able to work with structured information, compare multiple inputs, and identify themes or trends with guidance from the team

• Instructional writing: Strong written communication skills with the ability to summarize information clearly, ask thoughtful questions, and explain findings in a practical way

• Learning theory and instructional models: Interest in learning how instructional design models, adult learning principles, and evaluation methods are used to improve training experiences

• eLearning development: Comfort learning new tools and organizing information; experience with Excel, PowerPoint, Forms, survey tools, LMS platforms, or eLearning tools is helpful but not required

What You’ll Gain

• Real-world experience building training solutions that make an impact

• Mentorship from senior instructional designers and learning leaders

• Opportunities to showcase your work and receive feedback from a diverse audience

• Fun, hands-on projects that will grow your creative, technical, and professional skills

Additional Information

Hours:

• Monday – Friday, 8:00AM - 4:30 PM CT

Locations:

• 820 Follin Lane, Vienna, VA 22180

• 5550 Heritage Oaks Dr Pensacola, FL 32526

• 141 Security Dr. Winchester, VA 22602

About Us

Navy Federal provides much more than a job. We provide a meaningful career experience, including a culture that is energized, engaged and committed; and fierce appreciation for our teams, who are rewarded with highly competitive pay and generous benefits and perks.

Our approach to careers is simple yet powerful: Make our mission your passion.

• FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® 2026

• Yello and WayUp Top 100 Internship Programs 2025

• Computerworld® Best Places to Work in IT 2026

• Most Loved Workplace – America’s Top Most Loved Workplaces® 2025

• 2025 PEOPLE® Companies That Care

• Newsweek Most Trustworthy Companies in America 2026

• Military Times 2025 Best for Vets Employers

• Forbes® 2026 America's Best Large Employers

• Forbes® 2025 America's Best Employers for New Grads

• Forbes® 2025 America's Best Employers for Tech Workers

• 2025 RippleMatch Campus Forward Award Winner for Overall Excellence

• Military.com Top Military Spouse Employers 2025

• 2026 Handshake Early Talent Award

• Newsweek America’s Greatest Workplaces for Culture, Belonging and Community 2026

From Fortune Magazine. © 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license. Fortune and Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For are registered trademarks of Fortune Media IP Limited and are used under license. Fortune Magazine, Fortune Media (USA) Corporation, and its affiliates are not affiliated with, and do not endorse products or services of, Navy Federal Credit Union.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, sex, color, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity or any other basis protected by applicable law.

Accommodations: If you need accommodation or assistance for a qualifying condition to complete the online application (or during any stage of the hiring process), you can contact Navy Federal's Medical Accommodations team at [email protected] or by calling 1-888-503-6013. This team cannot provide any information on job postings or application status.

Disclaimers: Navy Federal reserves the right to fill this role at a higher/lower grade level based on business need. An assessment may be required to compete for this position. Job postings are subject to close early or extend out longer than the anticipated closing date at the hiring team’s discretion based on qualified applicant volume. Navy Federal Credit Union assesses market data to establish salary ranges that enable us to remain competitive. You are paid within the salary range, based on your experience, location and market position. For additional details regarding compensation and benefits, review the Benefits page (https://fa-etbx-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/nfcu/pages/employee-benefits) of the Navy Federal Career Site.

Protect Yourself from Job Scams: Navy Federal Credit Union jobs are posted on our career site, jobs.navyfederal.org and reputable job boards (e.g., LinkedIn, Indeed). We do not post jobs on social media marketplaces, messaging apps or unverified websites. We will never ask candidates for payment, bank details or personal financial information during the hiring process.

Bank Secrecy Act: Remains cognizant of and adheres to Navy Federal policies and procedures, and regulations pertaining to the Bank Secrecy Act. REQNUMBER: 32452