Research Scientist

Research Scientist
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San Francisco, CA
Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta), formerly known as Facebook Inc., builds technologies that help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. When Facebook launched in 2004, it changed the way people connect. Apps and services 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. To apply, click “Apply to Job” online on this web page.
Research Scientist Responsibilities
  • Work closely with a Product Engineering team to identify and answer important product questions using scientific techniques and research methods.
  • Develop novel quantitative methods on top of Meta's unparalleled data infrastructure.
  • Answer product questions and generate insights by using appropriate machine learning, statistical techniques or other relevant scientific modeling approaches on available data.
  • Draft software from scratch to implement novel methods.
  • Build cross-functional partnerships throughout Meta.
  • Communicate best practices in quantitative analysis to partners.
  • Drive the collection of new data and the refinement of existing data sources.
  • Identify new opportunities within Meta's long-term roadmap for scientific contributions.
Minimum Qualifications
  • Requires a Bachelor's degree (or foreign degree equivalent) in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Data Science or related field.
  • Requires completion of an undergraduate-level course, research project, or internship involving the following:
  • 1. Solving analytical problems using quantitative approaches including statistical analysis, hypothesis testing, supervised and unsupervised modeling.
  • 2. Manipulating and analyzing data from varying sources using programming languages such as Python, data manipulation tools like Pandas and NumPy, database querying languages such as SQL, and visualization tools such as Matplotlib.
  • 3. Communicating quantitative analysis including presentation of complex statistical concepts and results, writing of clear and actionable reports and dashboards, and visualization of data insights.
  • 4. Leveraging probabilistic concepts such as statistical distributions, hypothesis testing, expectations, and estimators.
  • 5. Familiarity with efficient data structures such as arrays, lists, trees, graphs, and maps.
  • 6. Experience leveraging advanced ML techniques such as Bayesian modeling, reinforcement learning, bandits, and causal inference.
  • 7. Applying methods for sequential decision-making under uncertainty, including Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) and Reinforcement Learning (RL).
  • 8. Optimizing the architecture and training parameters of Neural Network (NN) models.
For those who live in or expect to work from California if hired for this position, please click here for additional information.
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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.

$178,360/year to $200,200/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 and Affirmative Action
Meta is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action 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 support (called accommodations) in our recruiting processes for candidates with disabilities, long term conditions, mental health conditions or sincerely held religious beliefs, or who are neurodivergent or require pregnancy-related support. If you need support, please reach out to accommodations-ext@fb.com.