AI Design Intern

The Refinery is an award-winning entertainment advertising agency in Los Angeles CA. We work with all of the major studios producing social digital and print creative campaigns for theatrical television & streamer clients.

We are looking for candidates who embody our core values. Refiners are talented kind client-focused ego-free and passionate. While we operate virtually weve built a culture rooted in connection and care where people genuinely support one another. We work hard to make sure everyone feels like part of the team.

Enough about us heres what were looking for:

We are seeking an AI Design Intern who can commit to regular office hours (Monday - Friday PST) with the goal of joining the team full-time at the end of the internship. You are a sharp visual thinker who uses AI tools like a second language and who is equally comfortable pushing pixels in Photoshop.

You should thrive where tools evolve weekly. If you test every new AI release experiment daily and push the creative edge we want to talk.

Responsibilities

• You will work directly with our AI Design lead and Art Directors on live projects
• Support hybrid workflows: cloud-based generative AI creation blended with manual post-production (compositing masking color grading cleanup)
• Produce concepts scrap layouts typography and moodboards using a mix of AI and traditional design tools
• Translate images text and thumbnail sketches into polished digital comps; collaborate with sketch artists and art directors to refine visual direction
• Assist with inpainting outpainting and asset replacement while preserving lighting depth of field and texture integrity
• Leverage AI enhancement and upscaling engines to turn low-resolution generation concepts into high-resolution final assets
• Prototype multiple concept routes and visual treatments and support fast revision turnarounds
• Develop a critical eye for AI tells: deformed anatomy floating artifacts texture melting lighting inconsistencies
• Support scaling of creative into varied aspect ratios and layout distributions without losing the core aesthetic
• Support the team in maintaining structural and compositional consistency across frames and variations

Requirements

• Familiarity with modern AI generation platforms and models (Higgsfield Nano Banana Pro Firefly) and iteration at speed
• Working knowledge of Photoshop (including layers masking basic compositing Generative Fill)
• Interest in image enhancement and upscaling (Topaz Labs Magnific or similar)
• Design eye: AI is the tool not the identity
• Fast learner coachable and calm under tight deadlines
• Kind collaborative and open to feedback

Bonus:

• Basic Premiere or After Effects and video generation experience (Seedance Kling Omni)
• Blender or similar 3D software experience: basic block-outs camera and lighting setups depth maps to guide AI workflows

Portfolio note: were looking for recent work (last 3 months) ideally made with the tools noted above. If you work with different tools show us what youve got.

Salary Range

$20.00-$25.00/hr