Optical Metrology and Characterization Research Scientist

Meta Reality Labs brings together a world-class team of researchers, developers, and engineers to create the future of virtual and augmented reality, which together will become as universal and essential as smartphones and personal computers are today. And just as personal computers have done over the past 45 years, AR and VR will ultimately change everything about how we work, play, and connect. At Meta’s Reality Labs Research, our goal is to make world-class consumer virtual, augmented, and mixed reality experiences. Come work alongside industry-leading scientists and engineers to create the technology that makes MR and AR pervasive and universal. Join the adventure of a lifetime as we make science fiction real and change the world. The Optics, Photonics, and Light Systems (OPALS) Research Team is looking for a Research Scientist with a proven track record for innovation and scientific rigor in the characterization of optics and optical materials. Our team mission is to innovate and prototype immersive augmented reality (AR) display technology concepts towards beyond-state-of-the-art near eye displays for consumer devices. You will also have cross-functional duties with materials development, systems engineering, integration, design, and opto-mechanical teams for custom optical system tool development as well as facilitating the development of test plans for various leading-edge optical device concepts. You will join a highly cross-functional team tasked with concept innovation, design, development, and prototyping of optical components to support future AR optics productization. This role requires close collaboration with internal cross functional partners and external vendors to define and deliver complex solutions to support process development, quality control and performance optimization. You will receive full support from the management and leadership team to grow your technical skills.

Optical Metrology and Characterization Research Scientist Responsibilities:

• Deploy commercial optical characterization equipment to analyze near-eye display optical components.
• Develop concepts for custom optical characterization equipment (where no commercial system exists) and work collaboratively with the optomechanical and design Teams to design, build, and validate the equipment performance.
• Develop specification documents, engage with suppliers, identify custom instrumentation, fixtures, drive qualification, installation, enablement of new metrology solutions.
• Manage external partnership with vendors and instrument manufacturers to define test plans from research, development to production.
• Develop methods for the measurement, characterization, and design verification for advanced optical materials and components. Transfer methods to internal and external partners.
• Collaborate with the larger research team to develop, execute on test strategy, provide critical metrology data insights for optical design verification, validation and experimentation.
• Establish fundamental understanding of as-built physical optics and identify & validate source of gaps with respect to the desired display performance.
• Support development of image processing pipeline & algorithms to evaluate and characterize optical elements.
• Partner with design and fabrication teams for modeling, optimization and prototyping for next-generation optics and displays.
• Collaborate closely with various domain experts to address the key technology gaps and mature technology towards productization.
• Collaborate with research teams and lab management in planning, executing, and evolving metrology and characterization capabilities.
• Partner with cross functional teams, technical program managers and the leadership team to devise and execute on the program priorities.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 1 years experience in academic or industrial setting in optical components performance metrology, testing, optical characterization, spectroscopy and evaluation in a lab or cleanroom environment.
• 1 years of experience in fabrication and functional testing of novel photonic devices such as metastructures, photonic integrated circuits, holographic elements, diffractive, refractive structures, etc
• 1 years of experience in academic or industrial settings with scientific programming languages such as MATLAB, Python, Mathematica, or similar.
• Familiarity with optical metrology tools such as interferometry or image quality testing (wavefront sensing, MTF and spectroscopy).

Preferred Qualifications:

• 3 years of experience in design, fabrication and testing of novel optical structures such as metastructures, holographic elements, sub-wavelength diffractive structures, etc.
• 3 years of experience in hardware prototyping (e.g., bench prototyping, basic electronics, and software system integration).
• 3 years of experience in one or more optical design tools such as VirtualLab, Code V, Zemax, Light Tools or FRED.
• Experience in electromagnetic modeling and analysis of nanoscale structures, metastructures, anisotropic materials, films, or holographic elements, using algorithms such as RCWA or FDTD.

About Meta:

Meta builds technologies that help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. When Facebook launched in 2004, it changed the way people connect. Apps like Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp further empowered billions around the world. Now, Meta is moving beyond 2D screens toward immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality to help build the next evolution in social technology. People who choose to build their careers by building with us at Meta help shape a future that will take us beyond what digital connection makes possible today—beyond the constraints of screens, the limits of distance, and even the rules of physics.