Research Scientist Intern, Advanced Materials for Soft Robotics (PhD)

Meta • Redmond, WA

8d

About The Position

Reality Labs is Meta’s research and development division dedicated to building the future of immersive technologies. Our mission is to advance the state of the art in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and wearable devices to build systems that enhance human capabilities through intelligent machine collaboration and enable people to connect, collaborate, and experience the world in entirely new ways. Meta’s Reality Labs Research is seeking Research Scientist interns to join our materials, manufacturing, and integration team. These roles are focused on the research and development of advanced materials, architectures, and integration technologies for next-generation soft robotics. Our internships are twelve (12) to twenty-four (24) weeks long and we have various start dates throughout the year.

Requirements

• Currently has, or is in the process of obtaining, a PhD degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, or related fields
• 2+ years experience in at least one of the following areas of materials research: polymer synthesis, polymer formulation, compounding, molding, additive manufacturing (3D printing) or other advanced polymer manufacturing technologies
• Experience with handling softgoods, wovens and post-processing methods such as resin molding
• Experience with elastomeric materials development
• Experience with materials integration for functional devices
• Experience with optimization of material mechanical properties via molecular and microstructural design
• Hands-on laboratory experience in an academic or industrial R&D setting
• Must obtain work authorization in the country of employment at the time of hire and maintain ongoing work authorization during employment
• Intent to return to degree program after the completion of the internship/co-op

Nice To Haves

• Experience working and communicating cross functionally in a team environment
• Proven track record of achieving significant results as demonstrated by first-authored publications in high-impact journals, grants, fellowships and patents
• Experience developing multiphysics models relating to polymerization, diffusion, mechanical properties, or electrochemical properties, optical correction algorithms
• 2+ years experience with soft material characterization techniques (NMR, FT-IR, rheology, tensile test, dielectric spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, WVTR, thermal conductivity) or developing custom material testing hardware
• Experience developing polymer composites from synthesis, formulation to processing
• Experience sensor fabrication, integration, and testing

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with researchers and cross-functional partners including communicating research plans, progress, and results
• Publish research results and contribute to research that can be applied to Meta product development
• Design and implement elastomeric materials used for soft robotics fabrication
• Synthesize, functionalize, and process polymer materials in the laboratory.
• Analyze material properties via a variety of in-house analytical techniques
• Process and integrate new materials to sub-component devices for further testing
• Transfer new materials and processes to the engineering team and assure successful implementation of new materials and processes
• Collaborate with and support other researchers across various disciplines
• Summarize and present research agenda, progress and results over the course of the intern project

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree