Postdoctoral Researcher - FAIR (PhD) at Meta in Menlo Park, California

Job Description:

Meta is seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher to join Fundamental AI Research (FAIR), a research organization focused on making significant progress in AI. Individuals in this role are expected to be recognized experts in identified research areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. The ideal candidate should have a keen interest to develop novel approaches that lead to better solutions to reasoning and planning problems in foundational models (FM), including Large Language Models (LLMs), and demonstrate novel methodology and empirical performance improvements in real-world settings. Postdoc positions are one to two year fixed-term positions.

Postdoctoral Researcher - FAIR (PhD) Responsibilities:

• Perform fundamental and applied research to design novel machine learning techniques for reasoning and planning problems encountered in foundational models (FM), specifically in the following aspects (1) Develop Latent/Hierarchical Planning techniques, (2) Better Data Acquisition/Generation for Reasoning, (3) Better Verification of Reasoning Path/Signals, (4) Efficient Training/Test-time compute for Reasoning.


• Discuss with the mentor(s) for research agenda, and drive them with self-motivations.


• Proactively communicate with teammates and mentors about progress, potential issues and requests in order to achieve the goal.


• Actively collaborative attitude.


• Perform experiments and studies to evaluate the developed algorithms to real-world or even industry-level applications. Potential targeted applications include but are not limited to ML for System, AI for Design, Large Language Models, etc.


• Compose publications and revise them based on the feedback from colleagues, mentor(s) and reviewers.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Currently has, or is in the process of obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, relevant technical field, or equivalent practical experience. Degree must be completed prior to joining Meta.


• Currently has or is in the process of obtaining a PhD degree in the field of Artificial Intelligence and/or Machine Learning. Degree must be completed prior to joining Meta.


• Experience in deep learning frameworks and python programming languages.


• Have basic research background with publications in best conferences/journals in the related fields.


• Must obtain work authorization in the 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 publications at leading workshops, journals or conferences in Machine Learning (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR). Other closely related track records (e.g., Operation Research) will also be considered in a case by case manner.


• Demonstrated research and software engineering experience via an internship, work experience, coding competitions, or widely used contributions in open source repositories (e.g. GitHub)


• Experience with manipulating and analyzing complex, large scale, high-dimensionality data from varying sources


• Experience building systems based on machine learning and/or deep learning methods


• Experience solving complex problems and comparing alternative solutions, trade offs, and diverse points of view to determine a path forward.


• Experience in Large language models (LLMs), e.g., prompting, fine-tuning, pre-training.


• Experience in formal methods and combinatorial solvers.


• Experience working and communicating cross functionally in a team environment

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.



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, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Meta participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law. Please note that Meta may leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies in connection with applications for employment.

Meta is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, please let us know at accommodations-ext@fb.com.


$117,000/year to $173,000/year + 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. Apply Now