Job Description

Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Through our family of apps and services, we're building a different kind of company that connects billions of people around the world, gives them ways to share what matters most to them, and helps bring people closer together. Whether we're creating new products or helping a small business expand its reach, people at Facebook are builders at heart. Our global teams are constantly iterating, solving problems, and working together to empower people around the world to build community and connect in meaningful ways. Together, we can help people build stronger communities - we're just getting started.

At Facebook Reality Labs Research (FRL Research), we have built a world class team of researchers and engineers, working together across a broad range of disciplines from machine perception and artificial intelligence to operating systems and hardware. The Surreal Vision group at FRL Research is seeking an exceptional Research Director that can accelerate our mission to build a new class of spatial and contextualized AI that will transform not only AR and VR products of the future but also lay the foundations for a new computing paradigm that is built from the ground to understand the physical world. We’re seeking an experienced Research Director to drive advancing from fundamental research through to product innovation in machine perception and artificial intelligence, managing a team of world class research science managers, researchers and engineers.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead AR/VR or relevant technology development projects that break new ground and define categories at the intersection of spatial and contextualized AI algorithms, hardware and software co-design.
• Day-to-day decision making and leadership including both the science/engineering elements and driving the research to incubation process toward long range product impact.
• Perform risk mitigation analysis, critical path determination and change management on projects throughout their life including but not limited to research portfolio management, engineering assessments, design reviews, partner team/project focus, execution, budget, intellectual property management among others.
• Create and drive opportunities for taking research to product with partners.
• Leadership and oversight through all phases of the project up to technology transfer to product: identification/quantification/analysis of opportunity, research and incubation, planning of timelines, budget, partners, hiring, project execution, and preparation for productization.
• Communicate strategy, project objectives and reasoning to broad audiences across the scientific, engineering and executive leadership, managing partner engagement and building future opportunities.
  

Minimum Qualification

• Leadership experience driving high risk, high reward projects scientifically, including managing a team of managers, communicating at an executive level, seeking and hiring world class talent, working through extended project management teams to manage contracts, IP, etc.
• M.S. or Ph.D. in scientific or engineering discipline or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience leading teams and/or in scientific/engineering product development.
• Experience in leading time bound and multi-partner initiatives.
  

Facebook is proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Facebook is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, please let us know at accommodations-ext@fb.com.