Design Fellow

NODE is looking for a Design Fellow to join the team for Spring Quarter 2026. This is an eight-week fellowship for a current Stanford student interested in the intersection of physical design, art production, and exhibition-making.
You'll work hands-on with the NODE team at our flagship location at 180 University Ave in Palo Alto, contributing to the design and production of artist exhibitions in a space that treats digital art with the same seriousness and craft as any other medium. You'll be involved in real production decisions, physical builds, and the day-to-day work of running an active exhibition space.
Responsibilities Assist with physical design and fabrication for artist exhibitions and installations
Support production logistics including material sourcing, vendor coordination, and on-site builds
Contribute to spatial design decisions for exhibition layout and visitor experience
Collaborate with artists, engineers, and the NODE production team on active projects
Help prepare the space for openings, events, and programming
Document production processes and contribute to NODE's design archive
Participate in exhibition planning meetings and creative reviews
Requirements Currently enrolled as a Stanford University student (any year, any major)
Comfort working with your hands and learning on the job
Visual sensitivity and attention to detail
Ability to commit approximately 15-20 hours per week for eight weeks during Spring Quarter 2026
Portfolio or examples of past work appreciated but not required
Stipend provided for the duration of the fellowship.
Direct experience producing exhibitions alongside professional artists and a dedicated production team
Exposure to the full lifecycle of exhibition-making, from concept through opening night
Access to NODE's network of artists, technologists, and cultural leaders
A reference and recommendation based on your contributions
About NODE NODE is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to transforming how digital art is experienced. NODE is both an idea and a place -- built with artists, by artists, and for artists.
NODE is the antidote to sterile galleries and stagnant institutions. NODE is part exhibition space, part learning lab, part cultural engine -- designed to give digital art a home that matches its energy and potential. It challenges how we think about art, who gets to create it, and how we engage with it. It celebrates code as culture, and believes the future of art is collaborative, alive, and always evolving.
From Palo Alto to every connected device worldwide, NODE brings together a network of creators who understand that art has the power to bring us closer. We host experiences that evolve and deepen as more people engage. We create spaces -- both physical and digital -- that invite interaction, experimentation, and dialogue. We partner directly with artists to protect and preserve their code and creative legacy. We collaborate with universities and forward-looking institutions to nurture and inspire the next generation of digital creators. Because it takes a network to make art work.
Our Ten Commandments Have serious fun
No one leaves empty-handed
Bring a beginner's mindset
Make people feel at home
Everyone has something to offer
Rules are meant to be broken
Experience comes from doing
There's always a place for Punks
Interview Process On-site visit & portfolio walkthrough (60 min)

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