Systems Engineer, Data Systems

Meta Reality Labs is seeking a Staff Systems Engineer to define and drive hardware systems architecture for next-generation ground truth data collection systems. In this role, you will own the end-to-end system architecture operating at the intersection of data systems, virtual and augmented reality platforms, custom sensor streaming platforms, custom synchronization platforms, calibration, and operations. You will partner with ML and CV feature teams—including Eye Tracking, Hand Tracking, Holograms, Silent Speech, and Health—to define requirements, design and build ground truth systems, and lead systems through integration, test, and transition to Operations.

Responsibilities

• Define and own end-to-end hardware system architecture for ground truth data collection systems, spanning sensor streaming, synchronization, calibration, and data pipeline subsystems
• Partner with ML and CV feature teams (Eye Tracking, Hand Tracking, Holograms, Silent Speech, Health) to translate data collection requirements into system-level specifications
• Develop system-level requirements and allocate performance budgets across custom sensor platforms, synchronization hardware, and data infrastructure to meet ground truth quality targets
• Lead architectural trade-off analyses across competing design dimensions including data throughput, synchronization precision, calibration accuracy, latency, and cost
• Drive alignment on data systems architecture decisions across hardware, firmware, software, and operations teams through written proposals and cross-functional reviews
• Establish and maintain system integration frameworks that enable early detection of cross-subsystem risks in data collection pipelines
• Define and oversee bring-up and validation strategies for complex multi-sensor data capture platforms
• Lead systems through integration, test, and transition to Operations, ensuring production readiness and operational sustainability
• Develop long-term data systems platform roadmaps that anticipate ML/CV feature requirements and inform hardware and infrastructure decisions
• Mentor other engineers on systems architecture methodology and contribute to raising the technical bar across the data systems organization
• Demonstrate a service mindset by staying hands-on with day-to-day work and supporting tasks at all levels—no task is too small or too senior for this role

Minimum Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in hardware systems architecture or systems engineering for consumer electronics, wearables, or mobile computing platforms
• Experience defining system-level requirements and allocating performance budgets across heterogeneous hardware subsystems including compute, power, thermal, and sensing
• Experience leading cross-functional hardware architecture decisions from concept through mass production, including silicon bring-up and system validation
• Experience developing multi-generation hardware platform roadmaps and driving technical alignment across silicon, firmware, and mechanical engineering teams
• Experience communicating complex hardware architecture trade-offs in writing to both technical peers and non-technical leadership

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with AR or VR hardware platforms, including display pipelines, sensor fusion, or spatial computing subsystems
• Experience defining hardware-software interface specifications and collaborating with firmware or embedded software teams on system-level optimization
• Familiarity with low-power SoC architecture, mixed-signal integration, or high-speed interconnect standards relevant to wearable devices
• Track record of driving architectural decisions that influenced silicon tape-out or platform-level product outcomes

$173,000/year to $245,000/year + bonus + equity + benefits