ML Engineer, Search

Key Skills

Effective communication skills, Machine learning techniques, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Statistical modeling

Job Description

Robust, effective cross-product search capability is one of Figma’s most critical functional components in supporting the productivity and collaboration of our millions of worldwide users. As Figma’s customer base continues to grow and diversify and new technological advances in ML/AI/NLP emerge in real time, the opportunity ahead for search relevance is greater than ever. We are looking for a highly-skilled and experienced machine learning engineer to join the Search team to lead our search quality efforts through their early ML phase (and beyond). Come join us in shaping the future of search at Figma!

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

What you'll do at Figma:

• Spearhead developing early-phase machine learning systems to enhance the search experience for Figma users and build systems to measure and improve search quality and relevance
• Lead and set the future direction of search quality at Figma in partnership with cross functional teams of innovative software engineers, product managers, and data scientists
• Break down open-ended search relevance problems into engineering strategies by utilizing machine learning, data analysis, and experimentation design
• Provide mentorship and champion best practices in data and machine learning while fostering a collaborative and inclusive team culture
• Contribute to the growth of the team by improving hiring process and recruiting strong machine learning talent

We’d love to hear from you if you have:

• 7+ years of practical/applied experience with data mining, statistical modeling, and machine learning methodologies or equivalent
• 2+ years of experience operating in a technical lead capacity in a high-growth environment and guiding team(s) through periods of ambiguity and rapid iteration
• Proven experience implementing the full lifecycle of an early-phase model development, from ideating on which models to use through productionizing and maintaining them
• Experience in developing deep product and business knowledge to connect abstract modeling and analysis tasks with business value
• A growth mindset and experience investing in the learning, development, belonging, and impact of your peers, ex. mentoring/aligning senior engineers across organizations

While it’s not required, it’s an added plus if you also have:

• Demonstrated expertise in search indexing, retrieval and ranking systems like Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, personalization, and/or natural language processing
• Proven track record of planning multi-year roadmap in which shorter-term projects ladder to long-term vision

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.

Read more about our team

• Figma's VP of Design, Noah, presenting on our ML roadmap at our annual conference, ConFig
• Fast Company awarded Figma the General Excellence award in the 2023 Innovation by Design category
• Investing in Figma: The Decade of Design
• Figma's next product is a multiplayer whiteboard called FigJam

Pay Transparency Disclosure

If based in Figma’s San Francisco or New York hub offices, this role has the annual base salary range stated below. 

Job level and actual compensation will be decided based on factors including, but not limited to, individual qualifications objectively assessed during the interview process (including skills and prior relevant experience, potential impact, and scope of role), market demands, and specific work location. The listed range is a guideline, and the range for this role may be modified. For roles that are available to be filled remotely, the pay range is localized according to employee work location by a factor of between 80% and 100% of range. Please discuss your specific work location with your recruiter for more information.

Figma offers equity to employees, as well a competitive package of additional benefits, including health, dental & vision, retirement with company contribution, parental leave & reproductive or family planning support, mental health & wellness benefits, generous PTO, company recharge days, a learning & development stipend, a work from home stipend, and cell phone reimbursement. Figma also offers sales incentive pay for most sales roles. Figma’s compensation and benefits are subject to change and may be modified in the future. You may view our Pay Transparency Policy by clicking on the corresponding link.

Annual Base Salary Range (SF/NY Hub):

$168,000—$350,000 USD