Meta are hiring a

Research Scientist Intern, Audio User Experience (PhD)

The Meta Reality Labs 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, VR and MR 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, VR and MR that are so compelling that they become an integral part of our lives. You can find out more about us here: https://tech.fb.com/inside-facebook-reality-labs-research-the-future-of-audio/

In particular, the Meta Reality Labs Research Audio team is focused on two goals; creating virtual sounds that are perceptually indistinguishable from reality and redefining human hearing. 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 explore, understand, and evaluate how our future users will experience audio technologies within these initiatives.

The role requires a background in psychology, cognitive science, linguistics, hearing science, human-computer interaction, human factors, or a similar field. Successful candidates will have strong skills in speech communication, behavioral, and/or attitudinal human subjects research.

Our internships are twelve (12) to 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

• Basic and applied research on speech communication in augmented or virtual reality listening environments
• Experimental design, implementation, and execution to evaluate how users experience new audio technologies
• Collaboration with and support of other researchers across various disciplines
• Communication of research agenda, progress, and full analyses of results

Qualifications

• Currently has, or is in the process of obtaining, a PhD in the field of Psychology, Cognitive Science, Linguistics, Hearing Science, Human-Computer Interaction, or similar or a related field
• 2+ years of experience conducting quantitative or mixed methods human subjects research (behavioral and/or attitudinal), preferably with a focus in or adjacent to spoken communication
• 2+ years of experience in statistical analysis at the doctoral level using R, Python, SPSS, or other statistical software
• Expertise in one or more of the below research areas: auditory attention and distraction, speech perception and production, interpersonal connection and/or virtual presence
• Must obtain work authorization in the country of employment at the time of hire, and maintain ongoing work authorization during employment
• Experience in human auditory spatial and speech perception
• Familiarity with AR/VR technologies and/or hearing aid technologies
• Proven track record of achieving significant results as demonstrated by grants, fellowships, patents, as well as first-authored publications at leading workshops or conferences such as: Journal of Experimental Psychology, JSLHR, Emotion Review, Language and Speech, Interspeech, CogSci, ACM CHI, Frontiers in Virtual Reality, or similar
• Experience working and communicating cross functionally in a team environment
• Intent to return to a degree program after the completion of the internship/co-op