PhD Graphics Intern - Real-Time Rendering & Shaders

Figma; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 87,000 - 117,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Housing stipend

Travel reimbursement

Job summary

Figma is seeking a PhD Intern in Software Engineering focusing on Graphics for 12 or 16 weeks in 2027. The role sits within the Rendering & Animation team, based in the US (SF or NY) with May/June start dates.

You will own a high-impact graphics project, collaborating across multiple teams to deliver tangible results for Figma's visual platform. The internship emphasizes learning from industry engineers, producing production-ready solutions, and applying research to real product challenges.

Qualifications

• Candidate enrolled as 4th or 5th year PhD student in Computer Graphics, Media Processing, or related field.
• Experience with OpenGL/WebGL/WebGPU/Vulkan/Metal and shader languages (GLSL, WGSL) or other low-level graphics APIs.
• Proficiency in C++ or Rust.
• Strong problem-solving through academic or applied research with low-level tech knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Learn from graphics engineers as part of the Rendering & Animation team.
• Collaborate with engineers, PMs, designers, and researchers to scope and execute work.
• Develop, validate, and document solutions from prototypes to production-ready systems.
• Drive projects applying research insights to product challenges.
• Contribute to domains like shaders, anti-aliasing, media processing, or animation.

Skills

Graphics APIs

C++ or Rust

Shader languages

PhD candidate

Education

PhD in Computer Graphics

Tools

WebAssembly

Graphics tools

Job description

Figma is seeking a PhD Intern in Software Engineering focusing on Graphics for 12 or 16 weeks in 2027. The role sits within the Rendering & Animation team, based in the US (SF or NY) with May/June start dates.

You will own a high-impact graphics project, collaborating across multiple teams to deliver tangible results for Figma's visual platform. The internship emphasizes learning from industry engineers, producing production-ready solutions, and applying research to real product challenges.