PhD Intern, Data Science (2027)

About the Position

Figma is growing our team of passionate creatives and builders on a mission to make design accessible to all. Figma’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, Figma 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!

Figma’s 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, you’ll bring rigorous research training to some of Figma’s most important and open-ended questions, from researching emerging product and user behaviors and Figma’s broader ecosystem to developing new measurement methodologies, applying causal inference or machine learning, and building analytical systems. You’ll own a data science project end-to-end: from framing the question and methodology to translating findings into insights that influence Figma’s 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.

Responsibilities

• 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

Requirements

• 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

Nice to 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

We Offer

• Competitive hourly pay: $68 USD
• Housing stipend and travel reimbursement
• Opportunity to work in either San Francisco or New York hub offices
• An inclusive and diverse work environment

About the Company

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 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.

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 [email protected].