Building the engine while flying the plane — launching the Figma MCP server
What does it actually take to go from a vague idea to a production-ready AI system that people depend on? In this talk, I’ll walk through the real story of building Figma’s MCP server as a founding engineer whilst the MCP spec evolved—starting from early prototypes, through dead ends and architectural pivots, to launching both the initial product, creating new tools and eventually a fully remote server.
About the AI-Native Enterprises Track
AI-Native Enterprises sessions at AI Engineer World's Fair 2026 in San Francisco.
When
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
11:10 AM - 11:30 AM·20m
Where
Leadership 1 · Room 3016
Capacity: 550 attendees
Sign in to add this talk to your schedule.
Speaker
Jesse Lumarie
Software Engineer
Figma
@jesselumarie
Jesse Lumarie is a software engineer building AI tools and integrations at Figma. Prior to Make, Jesse worked on growth initiatives and Figma's first MCP server. He lives in Boulder with his wife Jenna, and three kids Henry, Hayes and Robin.