Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Haptic Sciences (PhD Student or Grad) Facebook
Redmond, WA

Job Description

At Facebook Reality Labs, our goal is to explore, innovate and design novel haptics interfaces and hardware subsystems for the next generation of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality experiences. We are looking for a talented Postdoctoral Researcher Scientist with expertise and passion for building and evaluating wearable haptic feedback technologies aimed to communicate innate sensory information through the skin.

As a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Haptics Displays team at Facebook Reality Lab in Redmond WA, you'll be working closely with engineers, designers, and perception and software scientists to devise new actuation schemes for haptic feedback, define perceptual rules to characterize human perception and improve on the design of haptic hardware and software subsystems, and implement user experiences to highlight added value for haptic feedback technologies. The position is a fixed-term (postdoctoral) contract for 24 months. Our research involves fundamental understanding of engineering and human perception, as well as evaluations of how specific engineering-perceptual choices impact the user experience. Researchers are also expected to have a strong publication record in peer-reviewed conferences and journals.

Projects take advantage of internal resources in mechanical, electrical, optical, and software engineering, allowing us to confront scientific questions which cannot be addressed with existing equipment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

* Research in the field of haptics sciences, identify and articulate research problems and how it informs to other research and product directions



Collaborate with researchers, engineers, and designers across disciplines (HCI, SWE, EE, ME) to solve complex problems and evaluate the effectiveness of developed solutions through user evaluations

Explore opportunities and requirements to create new digital experiences and perform research necessary to deliver them

Publish and present papers at top-tier conferences and journals in haptics, perception, engineering, human-computer interaction, and related fields

Mentor and supervise PhD interns

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

* Currently has or is in the process of obtaining a PhD degree or completing a postdoctoral assignment in the field of Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Bioengineering, or related field



Must be available to start employment on or after February 1, 2019

3+ years haptics research experience with developing haptic products and platforms

Demonstrated knowledge of haptic perception, experimental design and psychophysical methods

Demonstrated knowledge of the variety of actuators, e.g. electromechanical, piezoelectric and/or others

Demonstrated rapid prototyping experience in hardware, software and embedded systems

Demonstrated knowledge of engineering fundamentals for instrumentation and controls

Interpersonal experience: cross-group and cross-culture collaboration

Must obtain work authorization in country of employment at the time of hire, and maintain ongoing work authorization during employment

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

* Proven track record of achieving significant results as demonstrated by grants, fellowships, patents, as well as first-authored publications at leading workshops or conferences such as relevant World Haptics, Haptic Symposium, Transactions on Haptics, or similar



Experience with MATLAB, Python, and/or C++

Strong statistical analysis skills

Strong electrical and software prototyping skills in developing haptic devices

Demonstrated exploration of use cases for haptic technologies

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