Manager, Software Engineering - Search & Recommendations

Figma Figma · Enterprise · Canada +1 · Engineering

Manager, Software Engineering for Search & Recommendations at Figma. This role involves leading a team that builds search platforms and infrastructure, providing relevant context for Figma AI agents, and maintaining search features. The manager will define technical strategy, partner with various teams, and contribute to technical details. Experience in AI systems, search, or recommendations is required, along with engineering management experience.

What you'd actually do

  1. Support a team of engineers with skillsets ranging from infrastructure to model development, including hiring and career development.
  2. Partner with our product engineering, infrastructure, data science, and product management teams to deliver cutting-edge Figma AI features.
  3. Own the team’s technical strategy, roadmap, and goals.
  4. Roll up your sleeves as needed to get involved with the technical details and improve execution efficiency.
  5. Grow your career within an engaged and creative engineering community.

Skills

Required

  • engineering management
  • AI systems
  • search systems
  • recommendation systems
  • hiring
  • career development
  • technical strategy
  • roadmap ownership

Nice to have

  • OpenSearch
  • ElasticSearch
  • LLMs at production scale

What the JD emphasized

  • 4+ years of engineering management experience leading high-performing, fast-moving teams, ideally in the AI space.
  • 8+ years of total engineering experience, ideally reaching a staff engineering level as an individual contributor.
  • Prior experience building search, recommendation, or AI systems as an engineering manager or individual contributor.
  • A proven track record of motivating, mentoring, and guiding experienced AI engineering leads.

Other signals

  • Figma AI agents
  • search platforms and infrastructure
  • training reranking models
  • search infrastructure reliable as we scale
  • cutting-edge AI features