Join Figma as a PhD intern to drive AI research and develop innovative solutions for design and creative products.
Posted by employer 23 hours ago
First seen on Joblaze 5 hours ago
Last verified on the company career page 5 hours ago
Skills & Technologies
What you'll build
- Drive fundamental and applied research in Generative AI
- Formulate and implement new modeling approaches
- Explore the boundaries of current technology
- Publish research in leading AI/ML conferences
Must have
- 4th or 5th year senior Ph.D student in AI, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, or related field
- Proven expertise in AI through publications
- Track record in applying machine learning techniques
- Experience in Python and machine learning frameworks
Nice to have
- Related industry experience via a past internship or full-time role
- Experience communicating solutions effectively
- Experience using AI-assisted development tools
AI in the day-to-day
We explore AI-driven features and experiment with novel ideas in design.
Requirements
- Experience
- 3+ years
- Education
- PhD
Not disclosed in this posting: visa sponsorship.
Benefits
Joblaze summary
In this internship, the PhD intern will engage in both fundamental and applied research to develop AI solutions tailored for Figma's design products. Key skills include expertise in machine learning, particularly in areas like natural language processing and computer vision, along with proficiency in Python and frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow. This role is ideal for advanced PhD students with a strong publication record and a background in applying AI techniques. The collaborative AI Research team focuses on innovative projects at the intersection of AI and design.
Joblaze insights
- Listed today — first seen on Joblaze October 6, 2026. Last confirmed on Figma's careers page October 6, 2026.
- AI/ML appears in 33.7% of 83 comparable intern ai/ml roles in United States; TensorFlow appears in 6% of 83 comparable intern ai/ml roles in United States.
Quick facts
- Is the PhD Intern, AI Applied Scientist (2027) role remote?
- It's hybrid — Figma expects some on-site time in San Francisco, CA, United States.
- What's the salary range?
- Figma lists $74–$74 for this role.
- How much experience is required?
- At least 3 years of relevant experience for this PhD Intern, AI Applied Scientist (2027) role.
- Where is the role based?
- Figma is hiring for this position in San Francisco, CA, United States.
- What's the tech stack?
- Joblaze extracted these technologies from the posting: AI/ML, PyTorch, Python, TensorFlow.
- What seniority level is this role?
- Figma targets intern candidates for this position.
- Is this full-time or contract?
- Internship for this PhD Intern, AI Applied Scientist (2027) role at Figma.
From the original posting
Figma is growing our team of passionate creatives and builders on a mission to make design accessible to all. Figma’s platform helps teams bring ideas to life—whether you're brainstorming, creating a prototype, translating designs into code, or iterating with AI. From idea to product, Figma empowers teams to streamline workflows, move faster, and work together in real time from anywhere in the world. If you're excited to shape the future of design and collaboration, join us!
The AI Research team at Figma is working on the cutting edge of AI and Design. We work on optimizing agentic systems for design quality and end user experience. We build robust evaluators for Design and post-train models. We are a very collaborative, close-knit and impact-focused team of researchers and research engineers working on some of the most challenging technical problems at the intersection of AI and creativity.
We are seeking PhD interns with expertise in machine learning and artificial intelligence to develop innovative AI solutions for design and creative products. Through both fundamental and applied research, your work will contribute to new AI-driven features in Figma products.
This internship can take place in Winter 2027 or Summer 2027 in San Francisco or New York.
What you’ll do at Figma:
- Drive fundamental and applied research in Generative AI with Figma product use cases in mind
- Formulate and implement new modeling approaches both to improve the effectiveness of Figma’s current AI models as well as enable the launch of entirely new AI-powered product features
- Explore the boundaries of what is possible with the current technology set and experiment with novel ideas
- Depending on your project, you may have the opportunity to publish your research in leading AI/ML conferences
- Are a 4th or 5th year senior Ph.D student in AI, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Human Computer Interaction or a related field
- Proven expertise in AI through publications on recent advancements in AI, such as Large Language Models or Agentic systems
- Track record in applying machine learning techniques to projects in academia or industry
- Experience in Python and machine learning frameworks (such as PyTorch, TensorFlow)
- Experience solving sophisticated problems and comparing alternative solutions, trade-offs, and diverse points of view to determine a path forward
While it’s not required, it’s an added plus if you also have:
- Related industry experience via a past internship or full-time role
- Experience communicating your solutions effectively to different audiences
- Experience using AI-assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude) to write, debug, and optimize code
Pay Transparency Disclosure
This internship role is based in either Figma’s San Francisco or New York hub offices, and has the hourly base pay rate stated below. Figma also offers interns a housing stipend and travel reimbursement. Figma’s compensation and benefits are subject to change and may be modified in the future.
At Figma we celebrate and support our differences. We know employing a team rich in diverse thoughts, experiences, and opinions allows our employees, our product and our community to flourish. Figma is an equal opportunity workplace - we are dedicated to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity/expression, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.
Standard company text repeated across Figma's postings is omitted here.