Meta

Research Scientist Intern, Audio Systems (PhD)

Sunnyvale, CA · on_site · internship

About the job

Meta's Hardware Audio Team is hiring a PhD Research Scientist Intern to help push the audio performance of next-generation wearables, where small speakers have to deliver full, rich sound. This internship focuses on finding ways to unlock the full capability of every speaker to deliver the highest possible audio quality. It spans our audio hardware and audio experience teams, and the work runs from measurement and analysis through prototyping and validating new methods on real devices. The project is intentionally open-ended: working with the engineers and researchers, you will help identify the most impactful directions. The ideal candidate has a strong research background in electroacoustics, loudspeaker modeling, acoustic measurement and digital signal processing (DSP).

Our internships are twelve (12) to twenty-four (24) weeks long, and we have various start dates throughout the year.

Responsibilities

  • Identify, develop and validate methods to drive every speaker up to its full capability
  • Research how speaker performance varies across units and operating conditions
  • Quantify improvement opportunities and connect them to end-to-end audio quality metrics
  • Design and run experiments in our audio labs, and analyze the resulting measurement data
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams across audio hardware, tuning and algorithms
  • Communicate results through documentation, presentations and, where appropriate, publications

    • Minimum Qualifications

  • Currently has, or is in the process of obtaining, a PhD in Acoustics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Digital Signal Processing or a related field
  • Research experience in electroacoustics, loudspeaker modeling or audio signal processing
  • Experience with audio hardware measurement and related tools, such as precision microphones, anechoic chambers or HATS
  • Proficiency in MATLAB and/or Python
  • Effective communication, documentation and presentation skills
  • Must obtain work authorization in country of employment at the time of hire, and maintain ongoing work authorization during employment
  • Intent to return to full-time degree program after completion of the internship

    • Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with large-signal or thermal loudspeaker behavior
  • Experience with transducer characterization tools such as the Klippel Analyzer System, laser vibrometry or Audio Precision
  • Familiarity with typical DSP building blocks such as digital biquad filters, IIR, FIR and wide-band/multi-band DRC
  • Ability to apply AI tools on top of strong fundamentals in acoustics, transducers and signal processing to accelerate research
  • Experience with psychoacoustic metrics or perceptual audio quality evaluation
  • Familiarity with acoustic simulation software, e.g., COMSOL
  • Experience independently driving research in a dynamic cross-functional environment
  • Research published in relevant journals or conferences (e.g., AES, ICASSP, JASA)