Flyer Figma Office Space, image credit to cityam.com

By: Ann Li (SEAS ‘27)

If you have tried UI design before, you’ve probably used Figma, an online tool for interface design. I talked with Samantha Burak, a senior in SEAS studying Computer Science, to hear about her experience as a software engineering intern at Figma.

Q: Can you introduce your previous internship experiences?

A: The summer after my freshman year, I was a Meta University Intern on the iOS development track — this experience was completely remote due to COVID. I then returned to Meta as a SWE Intern the following summer in Menlo Park. Last summer, I decided to try interning at a new company! I was a SWE Intern at Figma, the design tool company, in their NYC office.

Q: What is your typical day like as a Figma intern?

A: This past summer at Figma, I would commute to the office every morning at around 9:30 AM. We were allowed to work remotely or in person, but I liked coming into the office most days. For the rest of the morning, I would eat a snack, start up my development workspace, and work on my assigned tasks. Each intern was assigned a team, a mentor within that team, and a solo intern project. My project involved adding a new feature to FigJam, the company’s online collaborative whiteboard tool. Then, I would eat lunch at the office and catch up with the other interns. In the afternoons, I would have meetings with my team (most of them were on the West Coast) and have check-ins with my mentor on how my project was going. We had special intern events during a few days of the internship like a boat cruise, cooking class, movie night, and more! Otherwise, I would leave the office at around 5:30 PM and have the rest of the day to relax and unwind.

Q: What was your favorite part about being a Figma intern?

A: One of my favorite parts of interning at Figma was getting to experience life working at a smaller, on the rise, tech company! Figma makes products that are loved by designers, product managers, engineers, and more; and so, it felt like each of us had a lot of responsibility for the sake of our customers to develop features that they would like. My other favorite part of working at Figma was, of course, the people. I learned a lot about good software development practices from my mentor and the rest of my team. The other interns were all super talented and super nice, and I really enjoyed getting to know them. :)

Q: Can you describe the application process?

A: I applied in early September of last year, and heard back a week or two later. The Early Career team sent me a Byteboard interview to complete, which is an online technical assessment that mimics working within a real codebase. After that process, I completed a final round with 3 back-to-back interviews: 2 technical and 1 behavioral. I heard back about an offer in early October.

Q: What do you think helped you the most with getting your internships?

A: The most important piece of advice I would give would be to apply early! The application process for SWE internships moves earlier and earlier everywhere, which can be stressful if you don’t plan ahead. I wish that I had put more effort into practicing Leetcode questions the summer before I started applying for internships, and Figma was one of the first companies I applied to in that whole recruiting season. If you practice Leetcode (specifically the Blind 75 questions) over the summer, you’ll be in a good place to start mass-applying in late August and early September. You can check out GitHub repositories like those compiled by Pitt CSC & Simplify for a full list of which applications are open. In my experience, I haven’t found referrals to be very helpful, so I wouldn’t stress too much about finding a referrer before you apply.

Q: Do you have any tips for people hoping to get an internship at Figma (or an internship in general)?

A: Believe in yourself and your abilities! Companies don’t expect you to know everything before you intern — the entire interning experience is a great way to learn new skills, languages, and what working at a real-world company is all about!

If you want more tips and guidance on preparing for your next interview, sign up for a coffee chat or mock interview with a WiCS board member!

 

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