PhD Intern, Security Engineer (2027)

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

Benefits offered by this job

Housing stipend

Travel reimbursement

Job summary

The company is seeking a PhD Intern in Security Engineering to join our security team and work on impactful projects across the product, platform, and infrastructure. You will apply research ideas to real-world security challenges under a mentor, with exposure to threat modeling, incident response, and vulnerability analysis.

Based in one of our US hubs (San Francisco or New York), this 12- or 16-week internship starts in May or June 2027.

Qualifications

• Current enrollment as a 4th or 5th year senior PhD student in a Computer Science program with a focus in Security or a related field
• Proficiency in at least one general-purpose coding language
• Track record applying security techniques to academic or industry projects, with focus areas such as AI Safety/Evaluation, Useable security, Anti-abuse, Anti-fraud, detection and response
• Strong knowledge of statistical methods and/or experimental design
• Experience solving complex problems and evaluating multiple solutions

Responsibilities

• Perform technical security assessments, code audits, and design reviews
• Design and develop solutions to prevent or mitigate security vulnerabilities across products, services and infrastructure
• Lead and support security investigations, developing datasets, tooling, and analysis for incident scope, root cause, and detection
• Translate threat intelligence into action to prioritize detection coverage and harden surfaces

Skills

General-purpose programming

Security research

Statistical methods

Problem solving

Communication skills

Education

PhD candidate in Computer Science (Security)

Job description

the company is growing our team of passionate creatives and builders on a mission to make design accessible to all. the company’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, the company 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 mission of the the company Security team is to help Figmates ship the most secure and safe product to our users. As a PhD Intern, Security Engineer you will work on an impactful project to improve the security of the company’s product, platform, or infrastructure, working closely with a mentor and teammates while applying your research background to drive real-world impact. You will partner closely with teams across the company, focus on systemic security improvements and risk reduction, and participate in operational security responsibilities like security reviews, consulting, vulnerability triage, and security incident response.

This is a 12 or 16-week internship role that can be held from one of our US hubs (San Francisco or New York) starting in May or June of 2027.

What you’ll do at the company:

• Perform technical security assessments, code audits, and design reviews

• Design and develop solutions to prevent or mitigate security vulnerabilities across the company’s products, services and infrastructure

• Lead and support security investigations, developing the datasets, tooling, and analysis that help us scope incidents, understand root cause, and reduce time to detect and respond

• Translate threat intelligence into action, operationalizing intel on relevant threat actors and techniques to prioritize detection coverage, harden high-risk surfaces, and guide security strategy

We’d love to hear from you if you have:

• Current enrollment as a 4th or 5th year senior PhD student in a Computer Science program with a focus in Security or a related field

• Proficiency in at least one general-purpose coding language

• A track record in applying security techniques to projects in academia or industry, with excellent domain knowledge in at least one relevant area such as AI Safety/Evaluation, Useable security, Anti-abuse, Anti-fraud, detection and response or similar

• Strong knowledge of statistical methods and/or experimental design

• 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

• Proven expertise in security through publications at top security conferences like USENIX Security, NDSS, CCS, IEEE S&P

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with demonstrated experience collaborating across functions

• Experience using AI tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude) to write, debug, and optimize code

• A good understanding of at least two of Linux/Unix/Mac-based systems security, AWS security, Cloud SaaS Security, applied cryptography, anti-abuse, or web application security

At the company, one of our values is Grow as you go. We believe in hiring smart, curious people who are excited to learn and develop their skills. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with the points outlined in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Pay Transparency Disclosure

This internship role is based in either the company’s San Francisco or New York hub offices, and has the hourly base pay rate stated below. the company also offers interns a housing stipend and travel reimbursement. the company’s compensation and benefits are subject to change and may be modified in the future.

Internship

$74—$74 USD

At the company 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. the company 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.

We will work to ensure individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to apply for a role, participate in the interview process, perform essential job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. If you require accommodation, please reach out to [e-mail]. These modifications enable an individual with a disability to have an equal opportunity not only to get a job, but successfully perform their job tasks to the same extent as people without disabilities.

Examples of accommodations include but are not limited to:

• Holding interviews in an accessible location

• Enabling closed captioning on video conferencing

• Ensuring all written communication be compatible with screen readers

• Changing the mode or format of interviews

To ensure the integrity of our hiring process and facilitate a more personal connection, we require all candidates keep their cameras on during video interviews. Additionally, if hired you will be required to attend in person onboarding.

By applying for this job, the candidate acknowledges and agrees that any personal data contained in their application or supporting materials will be processed in accordance with the company's Candidate Privacy Notice.

Application limits:

• Candidates may submit up to 5 applications during any rolling 30-day period.

• Candidates may not reapply to the same role while an application is active or within 90 days of receiving a rejection.

Once the applicable days has passed, candidates are welcome to apply again.