Optical Scientist Intern, Polarization Optics and Functional Materials (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.

Facebook 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. 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 interface, 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. This intern role will work with the optics and display research team, and you will be assigned to work on projects related to polarization optics and display innovations. You can choose to work on advanced optical materials development, or novel enabling optical technologies based on polarization optics, or AR/VR/MR display systems designs. Our internships are typically twelve (12) to sixteen (16), or twenty-four (24) weeks long and we have various start dates throughout the year, from spring to summer to fall. Due to the complexity of our projects, we encourage you to take at least 16 weeks for accomplishing the project.

Responsibilities
  • Collaborate with the larger Facebook Reality Labs team to explore novel solution space for AR/VR devices.
  • Develop next generation AR/VR display prototypes with an emphasis on both modeling and prototyping of the new concepts
  • or develop advanced functional materials (e.g., liquid crystal, tunable nano-materials, etc) and model their optical properties.
  • Explore the potential applications for AR/VR displays enabled by advanced optical nano-structures and/or new concepts in liquid crystal optics and materials.
  • Develop next generation AR/VR display prototypes with an emphasis on either modeling or prototyping of the new concepts.
  • The type of work should be publishable research results in top-tier journals and at leading international conferences.
Minimum Qualification
  • Currently is in the process of obtaining a PhD degree in Optical Science or Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Material Science, Chemistry, or a related field.
  • 3+ years of experience with computational, modeling or experimental aspects of polarization optics, liquid crystal materials, and/or micro/nano optics.
  • Demonstrated ability with optics modeling methods (e.g. Ray-tracing, FDTD, RCWA, etc), tools (e.g., Zemax, Lumerical, COMSOL, LCDMaster, or similar), or experience in designing & modeling advanced functional materials for optics & display applications.
  • Demonstrated hands-on experience with experimental optics and/or laboratory work.
  • Interpersonal skills: cross-group and cross-culture collaboration.
  • Must obtain work authorization in the country of employment at the time of hire, and maintain ongoing work authorization during employment.
Preferred Qualification
  • Intent to return to degree-program after the completion of the internship/co-op.
  • Demonstrated experience via an internship, work experience, or widely used contributions to open source projects.
  • Proven track record of achieving significant results as demonstrated by first-authored publications.
  • Experience in solving partial differential equation problems.
  • Theoretical background in Nanophotonics and Bound States in the Continuum.
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.