Figma AI Applied Scientist Role – Build Generative AI & LLM Systems (Up to $376K)

📍 Location: us

🏷 Type: Not specified

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Job Overview

This role is a high-impact AI Applied Scientist (Senior-Level) position at Figma, focused on advancing Generative AI, LLM systems, and machine learning research across product experiences used by millions of designers and teams globally. The ideal candidate is a highly experienced ML practitioner with strong research depth and production engineering skills, capable of building next-generation AI features. You will work across model training, evaluation systems, and applied research, directly influencing how AI transforms design workflows at scale.

🌍 Work Eligibility & Location

This is a flexible Remote / Hybrid US role designed for senior AI professionals based in the United States. While global applicants are not explicitly mentioned, eligibility likely depends on US work authorization. The position is optimized for collaboration across distributed teams, but core engineering alignment with US hubs remains important.

💰 Salary Intelligence

This compensation band places the role in the upper echelon of AI research and applied science salaries in the US tech market. The range reflects variation based on experience, impact scope, and location. Total compensation may include equity, bonuses, and benefits, significantly increasing overall value.

📊 Role Breakdown

This role blends cutting-edge AI research with production-grade machine learning engineering. You will be responsible for designing and scaling Generative AI systems that power design automation and creative workflows. A major focus is on improving model quality using techniques such as Supervised Fine-Tuning (SFT), Reinforcement Learning (RL), and synthetic data generation. You will also develop evaluation frameworks to measure model performance and reliability in real-world usage scenarios.

A key responsibility is translating ambiguous product needs into structured AI system requirements. This involves collaborating with product managers and engineers to refine user feedback into actionable ML objectives. You will also contribute to training large-scale models using frameworks like PyTorch, JAX, and HuggingFace. In addition, you will design experimentation pipelines to improve model accuracy, reduce hallucinations, and optimize response quality.

A significant part of the work involves reinforcement learning techniques such as DPO, PPO, and RLVR methods, ensuring models improve through feedback-driven learning loops. You will also contribute to infrastructure-level decisions that impact scalability and deployment of AI systems across Figma products.

🧩 Required Skills & Fit

📈 Difficulty & Competitiveness

This is a highly selective role requiring deep expertise in both theoretical ML and production AI systems. Candidates are expected to demonstrate strong research capability combined with engineering execution. The hiring bar is comparable to top-tier AI labs and leading tech companies.

🚀 Career Impact

This role offers exceptional long-term value, placing you at the center of next-generation generative AI systems. Experience gained here strongly translates into leadership roles in AI research labs, foundational model teams, and high-impact product AI divisions.

📋 Key Responsibilities

You will drive AI model development, focusing on improving generative capabilities within Figma’s ecosystem. Responsibilities include building and fine-tuning LLMs, designing evaluation pipelines, and deploying AI-powered product features. You will collaborate with engineers to integrate machine learning systems into real-time workflows, ensuring performance, reliability, and scalability.

Additionally, you will conduct applied research on model optimization techniques, including reinforcement learning methods and synthetic data generation. A critical aspect of the role is creating robust evaluation systems that measure output quality and user impact. You will also help define long-term AI strategy and contribute to architectural decisions affecting core product intelligence systems.

🎯 Application Strategy

🧠 Application Optimization (Adaptive)

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🧠 Fit & Positioning Analysis

Evaluate your alignment carefully before applying. This role prioritizes candidates with demonstrated impact in production-grade AI systems and advanced ML research.

📅 Application Signals

This is a highly urgent and competitive AI role with strong global interest. Early applicants with proven LLM + RL experience tend to outperform later submissions. Given the scarcity of senior-level AI applied scientists, competition is expected to be extremely high, especially from top tech firms and research labs.

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✅ Job Source & Verification

This job data is sourced from the official Figma careers listing and reflects a highly credible company posting. Details are based on publicly available hiring information and represent the most recent known version of the role as of latest posting update. Compensation and responsibilities may evolve depending on hiring cycles and internal adjustments.