Research Intern, Audio Presence (PhD)

Employer

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.

The Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) Research Team 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. We are developing all the technologies needed to enable breakthrough AR glasses and VR headsets, including optics and displays, computer vision, audio, graphics, brain-computer interfaces, haptic interaction, eye/hand/face/body tracking, perception science, and true telepresence. Some of those will advance much faster than others, but they all need to happen to enable AR and VR that are so compelling that they become an integral part of our lives. In particular, the FRL Research audio team is focused on two goals; creating virtual sounds that are perceptually indistinguishable from reality and redefining human hearing. See more about our work _here. (https://tech.fb.com/inside-facebook-reality-labs-research-the-future-of-audio/)_ These two initiatives will allow us to connect people by allowing them to feel together despite being physically apart and allow them to converse in even the most difficult listening environments. We are seeking interns to help us create unique audio experiences using virtual acoustics technologies, including acoustic simulation and interactive binaural auralization. We are accepting applications from students interested in (but not limited to) the following areas of audio research: * Numerical Simulation of Acoustics* Binaural Audio Technology* Head Related Transfer Functions* Acoustic Propagation and Room Acoustics* Blind Acoustic System Identification* Auralization Our internships are twelve (12), sixteen (16) or twenty-four (24) weeks long and we have various start dates throughout the year. Specific projects will be designed in collaboration with successful applicants to align the intern’s skills and experience with current research needs.

Responsibilities
  • Design and implementation of novel algorithms to solve audio research problems.
  • Experimental design, implementation, and execution to evaluate new audio technologies.
  • Collaboration with and support of other researchers across audio and acoustic engineering disciplines.
  • Communication of research agenda, progress, and results.
Minimum Qualification
  • Currently has, or is in the process of obtaining a PhD degree in the field of Acoustics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering or related STEM fields.
  • 1+ years experience working with interactive binaural audio technologies or acoustic simulation techniques.
  • Coding experience in one or more languages, including but not limited to: C/C++, C#, Python, or MATLAB.
  • Must obtain work authorization in the country of employment at the time of hire and maintain ongoing work authorization during employment.
Preferred Qualification
  • Experience with room acoustic simulation, auralization, or sound synthesis.
  • Interpersonal experience: cross-group and cross-culture collaboration.
  • Game engine experience: Unity, Unreal, CryEngine, or similar.
  • Intent to return to degree-program after the completion of the internship/co-op.
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.