Inside My Product Design Internship at Meta
Overview
I spent my 2023 summer at Facebook Meta’s Menlo Park, CA campus. Interning as a Product Designer on the MFT Design Team — Consumer, I had the amazing opportunity to work on solving a brand new AI powered e-commerce and payment experience on WhatsApp. The best part about my summer was working with so many inspiring and talented people cross functionally, getting out of my comfort zone, and being able to work on a project that will better the lives of so many people in Brazil. I am so grateful to God and Meta for this amazing, lifechanging opportunity 💚
How did you land the internship?
I was contacted by a Meta recruiter in August 2022, prompted to apply by another recruiter in early January 2023, underwent an interview in mid-February, and received an offer in early March.
In my portfolio, I showcased 1–2 projects emphasizing UX, accessibility, designing at scale, and leveraging color psychology to influence user decisions. My advice is to focus more on the ‘Why?’ Visuals weren’t the primary focus during the interview. There was one app review and one portfolio walkthrough — two different stages, same day, with different people in a 1:1 setting. Having a recruiter throughout the process was helpful (but of course, not required), ensuring I had a point of contact.
Don’t count yourself out; I interned with 4 other people, some with minimal Figma experience or an established portfolio. Personality and drive are crucial factors in this context.
What did I do?
As a product design intern on the P2M Team (Peer-to-Merchant), I leveraged my critical product thinking and design skills to solve real-world conversational ecommerce problems for users and businesses in Latin America, specifically Brazil. 🇧🇷
I conducted app critiques, brainstormed solutions to hypothetical problems, and presented high-fidelity interactive prototypes to key stakeholders. I also went beyond my project scope to consider both business and user needs. My work resulted in improved user experiences and increased business value for this post-MVP feature.
What is conversational ecommerce?
Conversational ecommerce creates a space for sellers and buyers to engage in real-time conversations, while facilitating the purchase of goods and services. It offers a number of benefits for both businesses and customers, including convenience, personalization, and real-time support.
Who did I work with?
Throughout my internship experience, I had the privilege of collaborating with a diverse and talented team. This included business engineers, content designers, researchers, product managers, and fellow product designers. The collaborative environment fostered a culture of continuous improvement, with valuable feedback flowing in week after week. This feedback played a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of my work. Notably, some of my designs even reached the highest echelons of the organization, making their way to the desk of WhatsApp’s CEO, Will Cathcart.
Meta Fintech Design team and I, at the San Francisco office offsite. We had so much fun and I learned so much!
What did I solve for?
Expanding WhatsApp P2M Features for Buyers and Sellers in Brazil
I played a key role in the expansion of WhatsApp P2M features for buyers and sellers in Brazil, working closely with the product team to identify and prioritize new features, and leading the implementation of those features. This feature was a missing puzzle piece in the P2M family, and was highly anticipated by Fortune 500 companies and key stakeholders within the company (WhatsApp).
Breaking down financial transaction design for clarity, speed, and trust
One standout aspect of my design process was my approach to project scope. Instead of tackling the entire project in one flow, I strategically broke it down into three distinct phases.
Why did I do this?
In the realm of financial transactions, especially when dealing with people’s money, the paramount objective is to foster trust and bolster adoption rates.
The decision to break the scope into 3 unique flows wasn’t driven by a desire to overcomplicate things, but rather to meticulously address two critical factors: clarity and speed.
The key focus
How can we get users excited about using this feature and make it a breeze for them to pick up and understand? If it gets too complicated, chances are users might just give up. But at the same time, we want to ensure there’s enough clarity in the process so users really get what they’re doing. It all ties back to our main goal of building trust and making sure users embrace this feature.
How did I solve it?
I solved the problem by conducting extensive research, asking important questions, and going on a personal design journey to truly understand the task at hand. I considered the needs of all stakeholders, including users, businesses, and competitors. I used intuitive product thinking to put myself in the shoes of the buyer and seller, and I tested out different approaches until I found the best solution. I prototyped the solution and gathered feedback from users to ensure that it was easy to use and adopt.
📌 Throughout this whole journey, being able to answer the ‘why?’ was super important.
I talked to engineers, content designers and UX researchers and was able to justify my design decisions in full.
During my internship, I carefully documented my design decisions, presented my high-fidelity prototypes to my cross-functional team, and created a comprehensive presentation that showcased the post-MVP feature and my design growth journey. I later presented this presentation to key stakeholders as well.
If you’d like to ask me questions on my experience feel free to send me a connect request on LinkedIn- I’d be happy to chat! https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrdnhrrsn/
