Software Engineer - Machine Learning

About the Position

Software Engineer - Machine Learning

San Francisco, CA • New York, NY • United States

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 is seeking a versatile and experienced Machine Learning / AI Engineer to join our growing AI team, working at the intersection of applied machine learning, infrastructure, and product innovation. Whether you’re building intelligent search systems, crafting scalable data pipelines, or enhancing AI-powered creativity tools, your work will drive user productivity, shape new product experiences, and advance the state of AI at Figma.

You’ll collaborate closely with engineers, researchers, designers, and product managers across multiple teams to deliver high-quality ML-driven features and infrastructure. This is a high-impact, cross-functional role where you’ll shape both foundational systems and user-facing capabilities.

This is a full-time role that can be held from one of our US hubs or remotely in the United States.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and productionize ML models for Search, Discovery, Ranking, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and generative AI features.
• Build and maintain scalable data pipelines to collect high-quality training and evaluation datasets, including annotation systems and human-in-the-loop workflows.
• Collaborate with AI researchers to iterate on datasets, evaluation metrics, and model architectures to improve quality and relevance.
• Work with product engineers to define and deliver impactful AI features across Figma’s platform.
• Partner with infrastructure engineers to develop and optimize systems for training, inference, monitoring, and deployment.
• Explore new ideas at the edge of what’s technically possible and help shape the long-term AI vision at Figma.

Requirements

• 5+ years of industry experience in software engineering, with 3+ years focused on applied machine learning or AI.
• Strong experience with end-to-end ML model development, including training, evaluation, deployment, and monitoring.
• Proficiency in Python and familiarity with ML libraries like PyTorch, TensorFlow, Scikit-learn, Spark MLlib, or XGBoost.
• Experience designing and building scalable data and annotation pipelines, as well as evaluation systems for AI model quality.
• Experience mentoring or leading others and contributing to a culture of technical excellence and innovation.

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with search relevance, ranking, NLP, or RAG systems.
• Experience with AI infrastructure and MLOps, including observability, CI/CD, and automation for ML workflows.
• Experience working on creative or design-focused ML applications.
• Knowledge of additional languages such as C++ or Go is a plus, but not required.
• A product mindset with the ability to tie technical work to user outcomes and business impact.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills, especially when working across functions (engineering, product, research).

We Offer

• Competitive salary range: $153,000-$376,000 USD
• Equity and a competitive package of additional benefits, including health, dental, and vision coverage; retirement benefits with company contributions; parental leave and reproductive or family planning support; mental health and wellness benefits; and paid time off.
• Paid sick leave, holidays, and other leave benefits in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
• Exempt employees are eligible for employer-provided paid flexible PTO in addition to flexible paid sick leave. PTO is subject to manager approval.
• Additional benefits may include company recharge days, cell phone and home internet reimbursements, and a number of lifestyle spending accounts.
• Sales incentive compensation for most sales roles and an annual bonus plan for eligible non-sales roles.

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].

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 Figma's Candidate Privacy Notice.

Application limits: To help candidates focus on the opportunities most relevant to their skills and experience, Figma limits the number and frequency of applications. These limits apply to all roles:

• Candidates may submit up to 5 applications during any rolling 30-day period.
• Candidates may not reapply to the same role while an application is active or within 90 days of receiving a rejection.

Once the applicable days have passed, candidates are welcome to apply again.