Can you imagine meeting up with your friends during the cherry blossom season in Japan—from your office? Or getting on-the-job training to improve your skills—in a realistic virtual environment? Or talking to your mom on a video call, yet feeling like she’s right there in the room next to you? These are all experiences that can be unlocked by the power of augmented and virtual reality. From advanced research to quick prototyping to building category-defining software and hardware, the team at Reality Labs is hard at work building these experiences—all to give people the tools to connect anytime, anywhere.

“Our vision here is very simple. These new computing platforms need to be built with human connection at the center. And that's something that Meta cares a lot about,” explains Andrew Bosworth, VP of Reality Labs.

Rafael Camargo, VP of Hardware at Reality Labs, reiterates that the driving force is about improving relationships. “Over time, we develop deep emotional connections to people who are close to us geographically,” he says. “But life also separates us physically, over time. That physical distance can create an emotional distance. That is why we are working on creating richer, more immersive ways to connect people.”

The teams at Reality Labs are bringing products, platforms and experiences to life. The org is made of problem solvers and visionaries working across many functions—including hardware, software, product management, product design, research, technical program management, marketing, sales, operations and more—on a variety of products and research like:

Our company’s passion for innovative products, paired with a deep desire to put people first, starts with the people on our teams.

Smriti S. says the collaborative nature of work within Facebook Reality Labs has had an incredible impact on her team’s culture. “I feel motivated in a fast-paced environment where I know I can help shape the future,” she notes. “I’ve learned so much from talented team members who come from diverse backgrounds and all have something new to bring to the table.”

Tight-knit teams within Reality Labs rely on their strong connections to adapt to change, overcome obstacles and innovate together. Marina Z., a research scientist at RL Research, joined Meta more than four years ago. “On any given day, you may feel like you’re immersed in an academic lab with research and development or part of a creative startup with tight timelines. The variety has helped us become comfortable with ambiguity, and it continues to show us that we can quickly solve problems,” she shares. “We have constant opportunities to teach and learn from each other while we collaborate, even though the person next to you might not speak the same technical language as you.”

The potential of AR/VR is limitless, and the team is motivated by what will come next. “We have really aggressive goals,” explains Fiona F., Director of Software for AR/VR. “We know the North Star to aim for, but the fun part is the journey. There are many different technical paths we can take. This flexibility draws a lot of us to AR/VR. We all have really different ideas that will help solve these really hard problems.”

For example, there’s an incredible passion within Reality Labs to help make connections more meaningful, immersive and inclusive for everyone. “Whether we’re making sure the headset we build fits a head like mine or thinking about how we can fine-tune an interface so everyone can understand it, I want to be sure that there are people like me in the room while we lay down this foundation. I’m honored by the responsibility we have,” says product manager Joshua M.

“With Meta’s focus on creating a more private experience, a huge motivating factor for me is to build emerging technologies in AR/VR and bring to people novel experiences that are privacy centric first,” says Merlyn D., an product manager at Reality Labs. “There are unique opportunities to build category-defining products from the ground up. We’re not just growing an existing community. We’re building a community of people who will use these features for the very first time.”

Wondering what’s next? We’ve only tapped the surface of what’s possible and continue to grow our teams. “We have the opportunity to shape an emerging field, lead with innovation and transform lives,” Reena P., an engineering manager, reminds. “We’re solving challenging and ambiguous problems that no one has taken on before.”