PhD Intern, Data Science (2027)

Figma is growing our team of passionate creatives and builders on a mission to make design accessible to all. Figmas platform helps teams bring ideas to lifewhether youre brainstorming creating a prototype translating designs into code or iterating with AI. From idea to product Figma empowers teams to streamline workflows move faster and work together in real time from anywhere in the world. If youre excited to shape the future of design and collaboration join us!

Figmas Data Science team partners across product engineering design marketing sales and operations to help Figma make better decisions with data. As a PhD Data Science Intern youll bring rigorous research training to some of Figmas most important and open-ended questions from researching emerging product and user behaviors and Figmas broader ecosystem to developing new measurement methodologies applying causal inference or machine learning and building analytical systems. Youll own a data science project end-to-end: from framing the question and methodology to translating findings into insights that influence Figmas products strategy or data science practices; with the potential to continue toward publication after the internship.

This internship will be based out of our San Francisco or New York hub.

What youll do at Figma:

• Partner with cross-functional teams to turn ambiguous product platform or business questions into well-defined data science problems
• Analyze user product or business data to uncover insights and recommend actions
• Design and evaluate experiments metrics statistical or machine learning models and analytical frameworks
• Communicate assumptions tradeoffs limitations and recommendations clearly to technical and non-technical partners
• Own a focused internship project end-to-end from problem framing and technical execution through final recommendations with potential to continue toward publication after the internship

Wed love to hear from you if you have:

• Currently pursuing a PhD in Data Science Statistics Computer Science Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Economics Operations Research Physics Applied Mathematics or a related quantitative field; with demonstrated experience conducting independent research (e.g. thesis or equivalent research milestone)
• Demonstrated fluency in one or more research methodologies or technical areas such as statistics experimentation machine learning causal inference econometrics optimization user research methods or AI/LLMs
• Experience using a scripting language such as Python or R as well as proficiency with SQL for analysis modeling or work with complex or large-scale datasets through research internships or applied projects
• Ability to explain technical concepts clearly and connect analysis to decisions recommendations or product/business impact
• A curious rigorous and self-starting mindset with the ability to thrive in ambiguous fast-moving environments and translate research into real-world impact

While its not required its an added plus if you also have:

• Prior industry or applied research experience with experimental design causal inference forecasting product measurement user research or applied machine learning to influence product business platform or stakeholder decisions
• Publications or research relevant to applied data science
• Experience or interest in AI product measurement LLM analytics/evaluation recommendation systems search personalization or evaluating AI-powered features

At Figma 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 youre excited about this role but your past experience doesnt 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.

At Figma 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. Figma 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 . 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 Figmas Candidate Privacy Notice.