Jobs / United States / Figma INC
PhD Intern, AI Applied Research (2027)
Figma INC · 🇺🇸 San Francisco, CA • New York, NY
Sponsorship verdict
Sponsorship possible
One solid signal, not two — worth applying, and worth asking about sponsorship early.
- Employer is on a government sponsor recordThe US Department of Labor certified 67 H-1B/E-3 labor condition applications for this employer between Oct 2025 and Jun 2026 (latest Jun 2026) — the step every H-1B hire needs first. USCIS also records 10 H-1B approvals in FY2023. Source: LCA disclosure data (US Department of Labor (OFLC)).
- The posting doesn’t mention sponsorshipSilence isn’t a refusal — ask the recruiter before investing much time.
- No salary bar for this routeH-1B has no fixed salary bar: the employer must pay at least the prevailing wage for the role and area. Cap-subject employers enter a lottery weighted by wage level. Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/29/2025-23853/weighted-selection-process-for-registrants-and-petitioners-seeking-to-file-cap-subject-h-1b, rules effective 2026-02-27.
- What Figma INC paid sponsored hires in similar roles1 certified filing for “AI Insights Program Manager” (Information Technology Project Managers) in NY: $161k–$161k, median $161k. Most were filed at wage level III (100%) — 3 lottery entries, ≈46% projected selection odds for cap-subject employers. Source: US Department of Labor LCA disclosure data (Oct 2025 – Jun 2026).
- Confirmed live todayWhen a source last listed this job as open.
US H-1B: cap-subject employers enter a lottery weighted by wage level — Level I gets 1 entry, Level IV gets 4 (DHS projected selection odds ≈15% at Level I to ≈61% at Level IV). Universities and non-profit research employers are cap-exempt. The $100,000 fee for new petitions from abroad is currently blocked by a court order (appeal pending).
A verdict summarises public evidence; it is not legal advice and never a guarantee — the employer and the immigration authority decide. Sign in to factor in where you can already work.
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Sponsor Radar — Figma INC
The US Department of Labor certified 67 H-1B/E-3 labor condition applications for this employer between Oct 2025 and Jun 2026 (latest Jun 2026) — the step every H-1B hire needs first. USCIS also records 10 H-1B approvals in FY2023. Source: LCA disclosure data (US Department of Labor (OFLC)).
Past sponsorship or register membership never guarantees sponsorship for this vacancy or for you. Full Sponsor Radar for Figma INC →
About the role
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! The AI Research team at Figma is working on the cutting edge of AI and Design. We work on optimizing agentic systems for design quality and end user experience. We build robust evaluators for Design and post-train models. We are a very collaborative, close-knit and impact-focused team of researchers and research engineers working on some of the most challenging technical problems at the intersection of AI and creativity. We are seeking PhD interns with expertise in machine learning and artificial intelligence to develop innovative AI solutions for design and creative products. Through both fundamental and applied research, your work will contribute to new AI-driven features in Figma products. This internship can take place in Winter 2027 or Summer 2027 in San Francisco or New York. What you’ll do at Figma: • Drive fundamental and applied research in Generative AI with Figma product use cases in mind • Formulate and implement new modeling approaches both to improve the effectiveness of Figma’s current AI models as well as enable the launch of entirely new AI-powered product features • Explore the boundaries of what is possible with the current technology set and experiment with novel ideas • Depending on your project, you may have the opportunity to publish your research in leading AI/ML conferences We'd love to hear from you if you have: • Are a 4th or 5th year senior Ph.D student in AI, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Human Computer Interaction or a related field • Proven expertise in AI through publications on recent advancements in AI, such as Large Language Models or Agentic systems • Track record in applying machine learning techniques to projects in academia or industry • Experience in Python and machine learning frameworks (such as PyTorch, TensorFlow) • Experience solving sophisticated problems and comparing alternative solutions, trade-offs, and diverse points of view to determine a path forward While it’s not required, it’s an added plus if you also have: • Related industry experience via a past internship or full-time role • Experience communicating your solutions effectively to different audiences • Experience using AI-assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude) to write, debug, and optimize code 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. Pay Transparency Disclosure This internship role is based in either Figma’s San Francisco or New York hub offices, and has the hourly base pay rate stated below. Figma also offers interns a housing stipend and travel reimbursement. Figma’s compensation and benefits are subject to change and may be modified in the future. Internship $74 — $74 USD 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 opport