Apprentice, Design

Apprentice, Design

Apprentices contribute to and collaborate with project teams, learn new skills from across disciplines, and build valuable professional connections. The goal of every Apprentice at Proto is to learn by doing, with support and guidance from experienced design practitioners. We desire to influence their craft and development beyond the apprenticeship at Proto and in turn, receive inspiration from them to continuously evolve our own approaches and ways of working here.

As an early developing designer, their superpower is unstoppable curiosity. Like a sponge they soak it all up. They read the books, go to the events, watch the talks, do the tutorials, ask questions, and raise their hand for every opportunity. They do whatever they need to do to improve and learn new skills, and are willing to fail. But when they start getting good, they don’t let up. They’re so excited to be progressing in the industry that they inundate their managers with ideas. All kinds of ideas. Wild ideas. Their never-ending desire to get really good starts here.

What you will do:

• Play a crucial supporting role to our design team on Proto brand and clients projects in ways that include producing a high volume of ideas across client and Proto brand projects, from early concept exploration through refined design execution;
• Contribute to the production of presentations and branded assets, bringing a strong eye for detail and consistency to every deliverable;
• Generate numerous compelling and unexpected raw ideas and source unique insights with an expectation that some will have potential and most will need strategic shaping from more Senior members of the team;
• Continuously ask your design team and intersectional team members questions, like “How can I help?” and “How can I make this better?”

Qualifications

• A portfolio with examples of at least two brand design projects (can be spec work);
• Fluent in Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, Google Suite and comfortable working in Slack and exploring new tools and technologies;
• Bonus points for motion skills (AfterEffects, Cavalry, Lottie, Jitter and Rive);
• Graduating from undergraduate school and available for full-time employment from September 2026;
• Based in the New York metro area for the apprenticeship and available to 40 hours per week continuously throughout a 10 week period [note Proto is closed June 19 and July 3, 2025 over the summer].

Our full-time (40+ hours weekly) apprenticeship program begins in mid-June and runs 10 weeks total. Apprentices with undergraduate degrees receive $35 per hour. The goal of every apprenticeship position is to work towards an Associate level full-time offer that starts at $65K salary and full-time benefits. Full-time opportunities are contingent upon meeting performance expectations throughout the Apprenticeship. As a project-by-project based business, we cannot guarantee availability, but always offer apprenticeships in good faith that we are working towards a full-time opportunity at Proto. 

Proto is a New York based company with offices at 3 World Trade. Our staff is encouraged to work-from-office on days of their choosing based on personal preferences, collaboration moments, client meetings, and all-company gatherings. Our core business hours are generally 9:30am-6:00pm EST; however, due to our client service model and collaborative working culture, individual working hours fluctuate to reflect client deadlines and deliverables.