PhD Intern, Software Engineer - Interaction Design (2027)

Figma•San Francisco, CA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Figma’s Interaction Design team works on ways to help designers express interactive behavior, from individual interactions and multi-state flows to complex animated transitions. The team explores how to make interactive behavior easier to author, refine, and understand, including new ways to visualize and manage state, animations, interactions, and prototypes through click-through and code-backed experiences. As a PhD intern, you will combine HCI research with hands-on engineering to help define future interactive experience design tools. You will work with a mentor and teammates, applying your research background to real-world product challenges. This 12- or 16-week Summer 2027 internship will be based at Figma’s San Francisco or New York hub.

Requirements

Currently enrolled as a fourth- or fifth-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.

Nice To Haves

A creative portfolio 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 such as GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, or Claude to write, debug, and optimize code.
Applied engineering skills through industry experience, prior internships, or similar experience.
First-author publications in top academic conferences related to the team’s focus areas.

Responsibilities

Be fully embedded on a Figma team working on problems that intersect with your research area.
Drive projects that apply research insights to meaningful product challenges.
Collaborate with engineers, product managers, designers, and researchers to scope and execute your work.
Develop, validate, and document solutions, from prototypes to production-ready systems.
Share expertise through presentations, design reviews, and cross-functional collaboration.
Deliver a project with real impact by the end of the internship.