Research Scientist, Polymer Physicist

About the role

The Materials and Systems Innovation (MSI) group, in Meta's Reality Labs Research, creates and accelerates breakthrough materials and device technologies that unblock the path to low-cost, all-day wearable AR devices and advanced sensing and actuating systems for robotics. We identify key technology gaps requiring step-change innovation, build AI-driven autonomous discovery pipelines to compress development timelines, leverage external partners to accelerate research, and deliver high-quality technology solutions through cross-functional, high-performing teams. 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 WhatsApp 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.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical lead for the polymer research group: own the scientific roadmap for polymer materials, set priorities, review designs and data, and mentor scientists and engineers across computational and experimental roles
• Develop theoretical and computational models of polymer structures to provide fundamental understanding about electromechanical coupling in ionic polymers, gels, and polyelectrolytes
• Build and apply multiscale simulation workflows to establish structure–property–performance relationships
• Partner closely with experimentalists in the lab – understand and help design the experiments, interpret DSC/GPC/DMA/rheology/impedance/FTIR and actuation-and-sensing characterization, and reconcile models against measured data
• Integrate computational workflows into our autonomous discovery platform, collaborating with automation engineers, data scientists, and AI agent scientists so that models, robotic workcells, and instrument data operate as a closed loop
• Identify and champion new research directions in polymer science – including materials classes, physics, or device concepts beyond the current portfolio – and build the case, plan, and collaborations to pursue them
• Represent the polymer effort in cross-functional reviews and with