Research Scientist – Robotics Simulator (PhD)

The Surreal Team at Meta’s Reality Lab Research is a multi-disciplinary, vertically integrated R&D group. Our expertise spans a wide range, from hardware prototyping and software/hardware co-design to comprehensive end-to-end system integration, enhancing the overall end-user experience. We specialize in an array of cutting-edge technologies in ego-centric machine perception and robotics including areas such as egocentric machine perception, scene understanding and reconstruction, 3D digital twin creation, robotic simulation and learning, etc.

For this role, we are seeking a passionate and innovative Research Scientist to join our robotics research team focused on developing the next generation of simulation platforms for robotics learning, testing, and deployment. You will drive cutting-edge research and system development at the intersection of physics simulation & optimization, 3D generation & reconstruction, and robotic learning to create scalable, realistic, and efficient simulation tools that accelerate real-world robotics applications.Research Scientist – Robotics Simulator (PhD) Responsibilities

• Conduct foundational and applied research in robotics simulation, including physics-based modeling and optimization, domain randomization, sim-to-real transfer, and synthetic data generation.
• Advance learning-based approaches in robotics, including reinforcement learning, imitation learning, vision-language-action models, and foundational world models for simulation-driven training and evaluation.
• Design and build high-performance, generalizable simulation environments supporting a variety of robots, sensors, and interactive 3D scenarios.
• Integrate leading physics engines (e.g., MuJoCo, Isaac Sim, Bullet, Gazebo) with 3D assets, scene representations, and control frameworks.
• Collaborate closely with teams across robotics, graphics, and AI to align simulator functionalities with broader system objectives.
• Evaluate and benchmark simulation fidelity, performance, and sim-to-real generalization across robotics tasks and use cases.

Minimum Qualifications

• Currently has, or is in the process of obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, relevant technical field, or equivalent practical experience. Degree must be completed prior to joining Meta
• Currently has or is in the process of obtaining a PhD degree in the field of Robotics, Computer Graphics, Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, a related field, or equivalent practical experience. Degree must be completed prior to joining Meta.
• 5+ years of experience with any of the following research areas: robotics, physics simulation & optimization, 3D reconstruction & generation, human-robot interaction, sim-to-real transfer, reinforcement learning.
• 5+ years of experience with C/C++ and Python programming.
• Experience with robotics simulation platforms such as Mujoco, Issac Lab, Sapien, Genesis, Gazebo, etc.
• Familiarity with deep learning frameworks: pytorch or tensorflow.
• Must obtain work authorization in the country of employment at the time of hire and maintain ongoing work authorization during employment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with GPU-based simulation and performance optimization techniques.
• Experience with differentiable simulation, physics-based optimization, or inverse rendering.
• Knowledge in the 3D rendering pipeline, including ray tracing, rasterization, physically based rendering, and shader programming.
• Experience with modern 3D rendering APIs and parallel computing frameworks, such as OpenGL, DirectX, Vulkan, and CUDA.
• Familiarity with reinforcement learning, imitation learning, or model-based control in simulated environments.
• Knowledge of 3D asset generation, material modeling, and scene synthesis pipelines.
• Knowledge of synthetic data pipelines for training AI models.
• Prior experience working with articulated or deformable object simulation.
• Demonstrated research and software engineering experience via an internship, work experience, coding competitions, or contributions in open source repositories (e.g. GitHub).
• Proven track record of achieving significant results as demonstrated by grants, fellowships, patents, as well as publications at leading workshops, journals or conferences in Computer Graphics (SIGGRAPH/SIGGRAPH Asia), Computer Vision (CVPR, ICCV, ECCV), Robotics (ICRA, IROS, RSS, CoRL), Machine Learning (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR), etc.
• Experience working and communicating cross functionally in a team environment.

For those who live in or expect to work from California if hired for this position, please click here for additional information. About Meta 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.
$117,000/year to $173,000/year + bonus + equity + benefits

Individual compensation is determined by skills, qualifications, experience, and location. Compensation details listed in this posting reflect the base hourly rate, monthly rate, or annual salary only, and do not include bonus, equity or sales incentives, if applicable. In addition to base compensation, Meta offers benefits. Learn more about benefits at Meta.

Equal Employment Opportunity Meta is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. You may view our Equal Employment Opportunity notice here.
Meta is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, fill out the Accommodations request form.