Our Reality Labs team chose sunny Los Angeles as a hub for the creation of our next generation of products and, by the ever-present buzz of excitement, it's clear the city has gifted us plenty of inspiration. The potential of virtual and augmented reality to connect the world is immense and we believe that together we can bring the previously unimagined into reality.

Our Reality Labs team is small but quickly growing and as a result, there is a viable startup feel. Meta's LA office has a welcoming, friendly and open atmosphere where sometimes being your authentic self means Hawaiian shirts instead of hoodies, and coordinating #FacebookBFF events such as cycle classes, kickball leagues, game nights and Rift demos (who wants to go outrun a T-Rex after coffee?) is the norm.

The Reality Labs team based in Meta's LA office includes Software Engineers, Technical Program Managers, Research Scientists and more. Everybody on the team is shaping the products we build and every voice has importance and impact. By tackling big challenges and constantly iterating, we are creating technology that makes VR and AR pervasive and universal. We spoke with a few team members to learn more about what it’s like to work on AR/VR at the Meta office in LA, and how they’re making an impact.

“I ran my own company for a bit before realizing there was a gap in where my skills were and where they needed to be to take on leadership at scale. I saw Meta as a place where I could continue to develop both my technical and leadership skills. Now, as an engineer with the Reality Labs team in Meta’s Los Angeles office, I write front-end code for the VR store. What I find most interesting about my work is what this code represents. VR is an exciting new world and we are building technology for the future.

Having worked at the Meta office in Menlo Park before LA, I enjoy being in a city that has a workforce made up of all different types of careers. You might meet someone in film and entertainment one day, and someone who builds skateboards the next. At the same time, LA is a growing engineering hub. Our team has formed a cohesive culture that feels like a real community. When work is done for the day, we're active in game nights or go to dinner together. Some have organized a car club and others are setting up a 10K run. The next few years will be interesting, as we continue to research what works and doesn’t work with VR. I’m looking forward to continuing to innovate and develop new tools, and eventually making a VR equivalent of an app store. That’s what success looks like to me.” —Leah M., Software Engineer

“I grew up in Israel and moved to New York City for an internship, before joining Meta in New York. After five years working with Facebook and Instagram, I heard we were opening a new site in Los Angeles for the Reality Labs team. The opportunity to impact the culture of a new office and be part of a growing team was intriguing; and Southern California's beautiful weather sounded pretty good, too.

My team in LA has felt like family since day one. We have the resources of Facebook and are only a short flight from headquarters in Menlo Park, but our office has a real startup feel. Walking around, you’ll see smiling faces and relaxed, cheerful people. There’s a huge sense of camaraderie and selflessness, because we’re all working toward a shared goal. We’re building VR products and helping design and create the future. We are part of something that could be as big as the smartphone in five years. And you don’t need to be in Silicon Valley, New York or Boston to do it. There’s an engineering hub here in LA, just steps from the beach.” —Tal S., Engineering Manager and Site Lead

“I interned at Meta in Menlo Park before joining full time as a Technical Program Manager in 2017. I worked with Messenger for about two years until I saw an opportunity with Oculus in Los Angeles, my hometown. I asked to work with the team for half a quarter before committing to a full-time position, and they made it possible. Now, I work for Oculus Store, where people can purchase content across mobile, PC, web, and in VR. I collaborate with product managers, engineers, data scientists and design teams to help provide scalable solutions and ship products. We’re currently focused on Oculus Quest, a new standalone headset.

We're more than a social media company. What drew me to Meta were the philanthropic organizations like Internet.org that bring connectivity to developing countries. We're at the forefront of technology and it's exciting to think about the cool products we're working on in the upcoming years. The AR/VR space is fairly new, so there are a lot of opportunities for us in this market. My favorite aspects of working at Meta are definitely the people and culture. Everyone is willing to lend their time and support, even when they’re busy. The team in LA is much smaller than in Menlo Park, so it has more of a startup feel to it and you get to know people well fairly quickly. It’s clear that Meta provides a variety of opportunities for us, whether that’s being able to easily switch teams or work on philanthropic initiatives. At our core, Meta takes care of you and truly values you as a person first.” —Kelsey F., Technical Program Manager

“I’ve been a Technical Program Manager (TPM) at Meta for the last eight-and-a-half-years—three years in Virginia, five in Menlo Park, and a few months ago I had the opportunity of a lifetime to join the Reality Labs team in Los Angeles. I have a few passion projects in music, stand-up, podcasting and film, and saw the AR/VR field as a great chance for me to bring that passion to work. Being part of our first tech presence in LA, expanding the culture, and coming back to my hometown to be close to family and friends was a game changer and a win-win situation for me.

As a TPM for the Oculus Companion App and the Engagement/Notifications teams, I get to work on devices that seemed so futuristic to me as a child. I always wanted to work with VR/AR devices, which didn’t exist years ago, so working on Meta Portal and seeing it come to life was surreal. But Meta allows us to dream big. They enable us to do things we never thought were possible. As a Latino who grew up in Huntington Park near South Central LA without a college degree, I'm so appreciative of the opportunity and career progression Meta has given me that's made me a better person. And I can share my success with others—like taking my grandmother to dinner in LA or inviting my cousin over to the office to see some of the neat things I work on.” —Nick C., Senior Technical Program Manager