Remote Applied Data Scientist: AI Research & Prototyping

Speedrun Talent Network; San Francisco, New York (CA, NY); Hybrid; USD 235,000 - 376,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health insurance

Dental

Vision

Parental leave

Paid time off

Retirement benefits

Job summary

Figma is building the system of record for digital product development, seeking an Applied Data Researcher who combines scientific depth with a proactive builder mindset. You will work with Data Science, Engineering, Product, Design, and AI Research to identify opportunities and deliver data products and prototypes.

You'll report to the Head of Data and interact with C-level executives, driving investigations, developing evaluation methods, and turning prototypes into scalable systems across the

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in machine learning, statistics, causal inference, or a related quantitative field.
• Fluent programming in Python and SQL with a track record of building and reviewing software.
• Proactive builder mindset with end-to-end ownership of opportunities and methods.
• Sustained impact in scientific direction, leadership, and project delivery.
• Strong judgment and ability to communicate uncertainties and tradeoffs to executives.

Responsibilities

• Identify and vet opportunities across Data products, AI evaluation, and workflows.
• Develop methods for evaluating generative AI and agentic workflows; create datasets, rubrics, and baselines.
• Write code and build or adapt LLM-powered tools, models, and demos for testing hypotheses.
• Provide technical direction and mentor scientists while contributing code and methods.
• Drive delivery and partner with engineering to turn prototypes into maintained systems.
• Establish reusable methods, tools, and standards; drive adoption and feedback loops.
• Communicate findings and tradeoffs clearly to partners and C-level executives.

Skills

Machine learning

Statistics

Causal inference

Python

SQL

Independent builder mindset

Communicate to execs

Education

MS or PhD in ML/CS/Statistics

Tools

Snowflake

AWS

Dagster

dbt

Hex

Job description

Figma is building the system of record for digital product development, seeking an Applied Data Researcher who combines scientific depth with a proactive builder mindset. You will work with Data Science, Engineering, Product, Design, and AI Research to identify opportunities and deliver data products and prototypes.

You'll report to the Head of Data and interact with C-level executives, driving investigations, developing evaluation methods, and turning prototypes into scalable systems across the