Research Engineer, Machine Perception (Project Aria)

Meta Reality Labs Research (RL Research) brings together a multidisciplinary, cross-discipline R&D team with the shared goal of developing the next generation of AR and VR technologies. The Project Aria team works on complex, open problems in machine perception — building the complete stack from sensor design through state estimation, tracking, calibration, and 3D reconstruction to novel scene representations. We are seeking a Research Engineer to develop and advance the algorithms and software systems that turn cutting-edge perception research into robust, deployable technology on future AR/VR devices.
Research Engineer, Machine Perception (Project Aria) Responsibilities
Plan and execute innovative engineering development to advance the state-of-the-art in machine perception for AR/VR — including vision-language models (VLMs), multimodal and egocentric scene understanding, and foundation models
Develop and prototype tightly integrated hardware/software technologies, from research prototype to on-device deployment
Analyze and improve the efficiency, accuracy, scalability, and stability of currently deployed systems
Design, implement, and evaluate algorithms against real sensor data and experimental hardware
Build tooling and infrastructure (data pipelines, replay/evaluation systems, benchmarks) that accelerate the research team
Collaborate with researchers and engineers across disciplines throughout the project lifecycle, and clearly communicate agenda, progress, and results

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, relevant technical field, or equivalent practical experience
6+ years of C++ or Python experience building and shipping software systems
Experience understanding, developing, and analyzing complex systems
Experience with statistical analysis of data and mathematical modeling
Interpersonal experience: cross-group and cross-functional collaboration
Must obtain and maintain work authorization in the country of employment during employment

Preferred Qualifications:

Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Vision, Machine Learning, or a related field
Experience taking research prototypes to deployed products on constrained/embedded hardware
Track record of results via first-authored publications at leading venues (CVPR, ICCV/ECCV, NeurIPS, ICLR, SIGGRAPH) or widely used open-source contributions
Broad understanding of the full machine-perception pipeline, from sensors to high-level algorithms
Experience with 3D computer vision, SLAM, vision-language models (VLMs), or multimodal learning

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 Whats App 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.
For those who live in or expect to work from California if hired for this position, please click here for additional information.
United States of America: $154,003/year to $217,000/year + bonus + equity + benefits
Individual compensation is determined by skills, qualifications, experience, and location. Compensation details listed in this posting reflect the base hourly rate, monthly rate, or annual salary only, and do not include bonus, equity or sales incentives, if applicable. In addition to base compensation, Meta offers benefits. Learn more about benefits at Meta.

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