Hiring: Associate Application Developer – Adobe Experience (Co-op 2026)

Apply for the 2026 Adobe Experience Associate Application Developer Co-op at IBM Consulting in State College, PA. Part-time during semesters (20 hrs/wk) and full-time during breaks (40 hrs/wk). Open to university students specialising in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) development or Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) data tracking.

About the Company: IBM Consulting

IBM Consulting is the global professional services and digital transformation arm of IBM, working with the world’s most innovative enterprises to manage their hybrid cloud, data architecture, and artificial intelligence journeys. By combining industry-leading expertise with a robust strategic partner ecosystem—including software giants like Adobe and open-source platforms from Red Hat—IBM Consulting builds high-impact, scalable systems that accelerate business growth and ensure long-term operational resilience.

The Adobe Experience practice within IBM Consulting is an industry leader in designing and deploying personalised, data-driven customer experience (CX) architectures. This practice helps global brands manage content pipelines, orchestrate customer journeys, and unify enterprise data layers. Embracing a corporate culture centered on empathy, continuous coaching, and bold experimentation, IBM provides co-op students with an immersive ecosystem where unique technical skills can translate into full-time roles within the elite Global Associates program upon graduation.

About the Role: Adobe Experience Developer / Specialist Co-op

IBM is recruiting highly motivated university students for its Adobe Experience Associate Application Developer Co-op starting in January 2026. Based out of the IBM office infrastructure in State College, Pennsylvania, this program requires students to work part-time (up to 20 hours per week) during academic semesters and full-time (up to 40 hours per week) during summer and winter breaks.

This co-op features two distinct specialised technical tracks, allowing students to focus either on core software development or enterprise data platform engineering under the close supervision of senior technical leaders:

1. Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Developer Track: Focused on the programmatic design, development, and implementation of robust digital experience architectures. Students build reusable web components, customise templates, manage asset metadata schemas, and support full-scale cloud migration projects.

2. Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) Specialist Track: Focused on digital marketing analytics, data ingestion pipelines, and automated customer journey mapping. Students configure data schemas, build unified real-time customer profiles, manage data governance compliance rules, and set up campaign personalisation channels.

Key Responsibilities & Engineering Workflows

Track 1: AEM Component & Solutions Development

• Component Engineering: Architect and customise reusable AEM Sites, Assets, and Forms templates using modern software engineering patterns.

• Backend Code Customisation: Write server-side code and manage content repositories using Java, OSGi services, Sling Models, HTL, and JCR APIs.

• Front-End Integration: Collaborate closely with UI/UX engineers to integrate responsive HTML5, CSS3, and modern JavaScript frameworks into modular AEM client libraries.

• Workflow & Automation Design: Implement backend AEM workflows, custom servlets, and data schemas to drive digital asset governance and business process automation.

• Environment Configuration: Assist in configuring multi-tier AEM environments (Author, Publish, Dispatcher) to optimize content replication, access permissions, and data caching networks.

• API & Cloud Orchestration: Support full-scale migrations to AEM as a Cloud Service and build platform integrations with external CRMs via RESTful APIs and GraphQL.

Track 2: AEP Data Architecture & Journeys

• Data Ingestion & Modelling: Support data schema definitions, configure ETL data connectors, and build unified consumer profiles within the Adobe Experience Platform.

• Audience Segmentation: Help design multi-channel customer journeys and audience groups using Real-Time CDP (RT-CDP), Journey Optimiser, and Customer Journey Analytics.

• Activation Channel Setup: Configure activation rules in Adobe Target and personalisation nodes across corporate web properties to deliver dynamic content.

• Data Governance & Compliance: Monitor data pipelines to verify compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA, maintaining strict user consent registries.

• Technical Documentation: Create and update solution architecture diagrams, software configuration guides, and engineering best practices manuals.

Candidate Prerequisites & Required Skill Stack

IBM seeks agile, curious, and collaborative university students who combine deep logical problem-solving abilities with a strong interest in digital experience engineering.

Academic, Logistics, & Security Compliance Matrix:

• Academic Standing: Currently pursuing a university degree with a verified track record of scholastic achievement.

• Location & Schedule: Must work on-site in State College, PA and manage up to 20 hours per week during semesters and 40 hours per week during academic breaks.

• Clearance Mandate: Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Federal security clearance if required for client project allocation.

• Travel Agility: Readiness to travel or temporarily relocate during academic breaks if business needs dictate.

Preferred Technical Competencies:

Core Position Specifications

• Position Title: Associate Application Developer – Adobe Experience – Co-op 2026

• Hiring Enterprise: IBM Consulting

• Primary Work Location: State College, Pennsylvania (In-Person Office Commitment)

• Program Timeline: Initiates January 2026 through May 2026 (Extensions available based on performance and business needs)

• Workload Matrix: Part-Time (20 hrs/wk) during classes | Full-Time (40 hrs/wk) during breaks

• Core Systems Domain: Adobe Experience Manager (AEM Sites/Assets), Adobe Experience Platform (AEP), Java Development, OSGi & Sling Frameworks, REST/GraphQL APIs, Data Modeling, Customer Journey Analytics, CI/CD Pipelines

LinkedIn Post Optimization

SEO Title: IBM State College PA Adobe Experience Developer Co-op Hiring Java AEM AEP

Meta Description: IBM Consulting is hiring an Adobe Experience Developer Co-op in State College, PA for 2026. Open to university students skilled in Java, AEM, or AEP data schemas.