PhD Graphics Intern: Advanced Rendering & GPU

Figma; New York (NY); On-site; USD 84,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Housing stipend

Travel reimbursement

Job summary

Figma is seeking a PhD intern for the Rendering & Animation team to tackle high-impact graphics challenges and deliver portfolio-worthy work that feeds Figma's visual platform. You will collaborate with embedded teams to drive projects bridging research and product.

The internship lasts 12 or 16 weeks and can be based in San Francisco or New York starting May or June 2027, with mentorship and access to cutting-edge graphics tech.

Qualifications

• PhD student in graphics/related field pursuing PhD.
• Experience with low-level graphics APIs (OpenGL/WebGL/WebGPU/Vulkan/Metal).
• Proficiency in C++ or Rust.
• Strong problem-solving and holistic thinking.

Responsibilities

• Learn from industry graphics engineers and participate as an embedded team member of the Rendering & Animation team.
• Collaborate with engineers, PMs, designers, and researchers to scope and execute your work.
• Develop, validate, and document solutions from prototypes to production-ready systems.
• Drive projects that apply research insights to meaningful product challenges.
• Contribute to exciting domain areas such as shaders, anti-aliasing, and media processing.

Skills

Problem solving

Holistic thinking

Communication skills

Education

PhD student in Computer Graphics/Media Processing

Tools

OpenGL

WebGL

WebGPU

Vulkan

Metal

C++

Rust

Job description

Figma is seeking a PhD intern for the Rendering & Animation team to tackle high-impact graphics challenges and deliver portfolio-worthy work that feeds Figma's visual platform. You will collaborate with embedded teams to drive projects bridging research and product.

The internship lasts 12 or 16 weeks and can be based in San Francisco or New York starting May or June 2027, with mentorship and access to cutting-edge graphics tech.