I wanted to create a bunch of free templates for people to use.
But I've seen some comments on here that suggest this will produce an unparse-able PDF that will fail many automatic job portals. Is that true?
Having a parse-able CV is definitively the most important criterion for your CV though. Ypu don't have to worry about anything else if it's not parse-able '
If you are writing your CV to make Figma templates, then it makes perfect sense.
Generally, writing your CV in Figma is easier, more pleasant, and less likely to result in rejection than looking for a job. That might be part of the attraction. Good luck.