PhD Intern, Software Engineer - Interaction Design (2027)

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

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 company’s Interaction Design team helps designers express how interactive experiences behave from a single interaction, to a multi-state flow, to a series of complex animated transitions. We’re interested in making complex interactive behavior easier to author, refine and understand. This team investigates and identifies new ways to visualize and manage state, animations, interactions, and prototypes through click-through and code-backed experiences.

As a PhD intern, you’ll combine HCI research with hands-on-engineering to help define the next generation of interactive experience design tooling. You’ll work closely with a mentor and teammates and get to learn, contribute, and grow in a supportive environment, while applying your research background to drive real-world impact.

This 12 or 16-week internship for Summer 2027 will be based out of our San Francisco or New York hub.

What you’ll do at the company:

• 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

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

• 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

While it’s not required, it’s an added plus if you also have:

• A creative portfolio of work consisting of time-based media, animation, game development, digital illustration, or another creative field.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with demonstrated experience collaborating across functions
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude) to write, debug, and optimize code
• Applied engineering skills via industry experience, prior internships or similar experience
• First-author publications in top academic conferences related to our team’s focus areas

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.