Research Scientist Intern, 3D Scene Understanding (PhD)

Reality Labs Research is pioneering the next generation of AR/VR devices and intelligent systems. Our mission is to create the foundational technologies that enable contextual AI for AR glasses, VR headsets, and embodied agents. We are advancing the state of the art in 3D perception, multimodal scene understanding, and efficient on-device intelligence.We are seeking a highly self-motivated and hands-on PhD student to join our team as a Research Scientist Intern for Summer 2026, focusing on 3D scene understanding.Our internships are twelve (12) to twenty-four (24) weeks long and we have various start dates throughout the year.

Research Scientist Intern, 3D Scene Understanding (PhD) Responsibilities:

• Conduct research in 3D scene understanding, including but not limited to: Efficient and scalable 3D representation learning or reconstruction, Hierarchical / semantic scene graphs for large-scale environments, Open-vocabulary multimodal grounding (text, image, video, audio etc), Dynamic object tracking and temporal scene reasoning, and Edge-aware 3D scene understanding.
• Design and execute experiments on public datasets and/or internal data from AR/VR hardware.
• Collaborate with researchers, engineers, and interns across Reality Labs to advance the research frontier.
• Document findings and aim for submission to CVPR or equivalent top-tier conferences.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Robotics, or a related field
• Research background in at least one of: 3D scene understanding, semantic mapping, SLAM, or neural representations, Multimodal learning (vision + language, vision + audio), Large-scale 3D reconstruction or scene graph generation
• Proven publication record in top-tier venues (CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS, ICLR, etc.)
• Programming skills in Python and PyTorch (or equivalent deep learning frameworks)
• Hands-on experience with 3D datasets, rendering, or AR/VR sensors
• Must obtain work authorization in country of employment at the time of hire, and maintain ongoing work authorization during employment

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with hybrid 3D representations (e.g., Gaussian Splatting, NeRFs, octree/voxel methods)
• Familiarity with open-vocabulary or foundation models (CLIP, Segment-Anything, LLMs for vision-language reasoning)
• Knowledge of real-time or efficient deployment techniques (quantization, distillation, adaptive inference)
• Ability to integrate research code into practical prototypes on edge devices (Jetson, AR/VR headsets)
• Intent to return to degree-program after the completion of the internship/co-op
• Proven track record of achieving significant results as demonstrated by grants, fellowships, patents, as well as first-authored publications at leading workshops or conferences
• Experience working and communicating cross functionally in a team environment

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.

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.