PhD Intern: Interactive Design & AI Tools

Figma; United States; Remote; USD 84,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Housing stipend

Travel reimbursement

Job summary

Figma is seeking a PhD intern to blend HCI research with hands-on engineering, helping shape the next generation of interactive design tooling. You’ll work with mentors and teams, translating research into real-world impact while learning and growing in a supportive environment.

Based in San Francisco or New York, you’ll join a team that tackles problems at the intersection of design, AI, and interactive experiences, delivering projects with tangible outcomes by internship end.

Qualifications

• Current enrollment as a 4th or 5th year senior PhD student pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a related field
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex research concepts into practical, scalable solutions
• A track record of rigorous problem-solving through academic or applied research
• Proficiency in at least one general purpose coding language

Responsibilities

• Be fully embedded onto a the company team working on problems that intersect with your research area
• Drive projects that apply research insights to meaningful product challenges
• Collaborate with engineers, PMs, designers, and researchers to scope and execute your work
• Develop, validate, and document solutions from prototypes to production-ready systems
• Share your expertise through presentations, design reviews, and cross-functional collaboration
• Deliver a project with real impact by the end of your internship

Skills

Research translation

Problem solving

Coding (any language)

General purpose coding languages

Education

PhD student in CS/HCI/AI/ML

Tools

GitHub Copilot

ChatGPT

Claude

Job description

Figma is seeking a PhD intern to blend HCI research with hands-on engineering, helping shape the next generation of interactive design tooling. You’ll work with mentors and teams, translating research into real-world impact while learning and growing in a supportive environment.

Based in San Francisco or New York, you’ll join a team that tackles problems at the intersection of design, AI, and interactive experiences, delivering projects with tangible outcomes by internship end.