PhD Intern, Security Engineer (2027)

Figma•San Francisco, NY

6h•Onsite

About The Position

Figma’s Security team works to help Figmates deliver secure and safe products. The PhD Intern, Security Engineer will work on an impactful project to improve the security of Figma’s product, platform, or infrastructure. Working closely with a mentor and teammates, the intern will apply their research background to real-world security challenges and partner with teams across the company on systemic security improvements and risk reduction. The role also participates in operational security work, including security reviews, consulting, vulnerability triage, and security incident response. This is a 12- or 16-week internship based in Figma’s San Francisco or New York hub, starting in May or June 2027. The internship pays $74 per hour and includes a housing stipend and travel reimbursement. In-person onboarding is required.

Requirements

Be currently enrolled as a fourth- or fifth-year senior PhD student in a Computer Science program focused on Security or a related field.
Be proficient in at least one general-purpose coding language.
Have a track record of applying security techniques to academic or industry projects, with excellent domain knowledge in at least one relevant area such as AI Safety/Evaluation, usable security, anti-abuse, anti-fraud, or detection and response.
Have strong knowledge of statistical methods and/or experimental design.
Have experience solving sophisticated problems and comparing alternative solutions, trade-offs, and diverse points of view to determine a path forward.

Nice To Haves

Related industry experience through a past internship or full-time role.
Proven security expertise through publications at top security conferences such as USENIX Security, NDSS, CCS, or IEEE S&P.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with demonstrated experience collaborating across functions.
Experience using AI tools such as GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, or Claude to write, debug, and optimize code.
A good understanding of at least two of the following: Linux/Unix/Mac-based systems security, AWS security, Cloud SaaS Security, applied cryptography, anti-abuse, or web application security.

Responsibilities

Perform technical security assessments, code audits, and design reviews.
Design and develop solutions to prevent or mitigate security vulnerabilities across Figma’s products, services, and infrastructure.
Lead and support security investigations, developing datasets, tooling, and analysis to scope incidents, understand root causes, and reduce time to detect and respond.
Translate threat intelligence into action by operationalizing information about relevant threat actors and techniques to prioritize detection coverage, harden high-risk surfaces, and guide security strategy.
Partner with teams across the company on systemic security improvements and risk reduction.
Participate in operational security responsibilities, including security reviews, consulting, vulnerability triage, and security incident response.