From candidate interviews to developer crits: how Figma engineering uses FigJam to scale | Figma Blog

Figma Engineering uses FigJam as more than a brainstorming tool: it supports team culture, hiring, collaboration, and technical feedback in a rapidly growing, hybrid workplace. By moving activities such as stand-ups and architecture interviews onto a shared digital canvas, the team preserves the spontaneity of in-person collaboration while creating a persistent record of discussions and ideas.

Supporting Remote Team Culture

• Remote stand-ups had become transactional and often ran over time as the team grew.
• Engineers now post updates asynchronously in FigJam during a timed, 10-minute session.
• Team members can add stickies, photos, reactions, hearts, and comments, making it easier to share personal updates and connect informally.
• The shared canvas also encourages playful traditions, such as “20-second animal,” where everyone draws a selected animal at the end of a meeting.

Scaling Engineering Processes

• Figma’s mobile team grew to more than 20 people, creating a need for processes that scale with the organization.
• Engineers focus on helping new teammates learn the company’s infrastructure and technology stack.
• FigJam provides a shared space for organizing information and maintaining collaboration as teams expand.

Digital Whiteboarding for Candidate Interviews

• Engineering interviews include architecture and system-design exercises designed to reveal how candidates think and collaborate.
• When interviews moved online, Figma replaced physical whiteboards with FigJam.
• Interviewers share a prompt, observe candidates as they develop a solution, and discuss the design together on the virtual canvas.
• Candidates unfamiliar with FigJam receive a brief orientation, and open sessions allow them to participate without creating an account.
• The process retains the collaborative nature of in-person whiteboarding while working within Figma’s hybrid model.

Figma’s approach demonstrates how a shared, flexible canvas can support both serious technical work and informal team connection. For distributed engineering teams, combining asynchronous updates, collaborative whiteboarding, and lightweight social activities can help preserve culture while processes scale.