RS position @ Meta

Apr 16 19 Comments

Are research scientists at Meta really domain experts and pioneers in ML/DL/CV/NLP etc. What does Meta look for in its RS folks and what does it take to get call up ? Do RS folks indeed focus entirely on research? I was in touch with a recruiter earlier who sort of forced me to apply for SE position even though I have papers etc. Some of my friends are/were in Meta too as RS and they are not experts or pioneers etc.

Please chime in with your opinion and experiences. Really curious.

PhD in ML + 3.75 yrs exp
TC 288k

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TOP 19 Comments
  • Well I had a convo with manager.

    So there are multiple wings of it

    RS - research scientist focus on publishing papers

    ARS - they do applied research and apply stuff , experiment new modeling approach to improve business methodologies etc. PhD good to have but not required.

    DS - are basically doing sql stuff pulling reports etc (exact words by ARS manager )

    Product growth analyst - similar to DS and more like business analyst

    SWE ML/MLE - Are MLE who are responsible for productionizing ML

    Pay wise

    RS >= ARS >= SWE ML/MLE > DS > Product growth analyst

    If you don’t have solid research background and PhD then getting RS is not possible. You need strong publications for it
    Apr 16 5
    • No meta Rs doesn’t productionize!! They do theoretical research which you can call pure research like FAIR.

      ARS does modeling, Proof of concept and make minimal viable product but don’t productionize either.

      After MVP , ARS gives finding and suggestions to MLE/ SWE ML who does the productionizing work
      Apr 16
    • Amazon AS is mix of meta ARS & meta MLE
      Apr 16
  • Meta
    _n6

    Go to company page Meta

    _n6
    Research in a company like Meta is not pure academic research. Don't expect to work on abstract concepts in your bubble and simply publish papers / go to conferences once in a while. You work with (future) products in mind and are collaborating with software engineers. You think, design, prototype and hand off (to put it simply).

    Also I'm not sure what you're looking for with "experts and pioneers". To work in research you need a PhD so yes you have to be an expert.
    Apr 16 3
    • Meta
      _n6

      Go to company page Meta

      _n6
      Yes so technically you qualify for RS roles. You are saying the recruiter is pushing you to apply for SWE, but I'm guessing it's either research SWE or specialist? In which case it makes sense! It also depends on the teams need at a specific point in time.
      Apr 16
    • Apple
      ndmC02

      Go to company page Apple

      ndmC02
      Meta recruiters tend to push for their pool of positions, so that they get their quota in. In multiple instances, different recruiters of meta have described the org they recruit for having blend of position, and when it’s time to get concrete the push for certain types of propitious. Maybe this positions need to be covers, or they don’t want to hand you to a different recruiter. I don’t know what it is, but the push is real.
      Apr 16
  • Meta
    🌻 girl

    Go to company page Meta

    🌻 girl
    RS is a misleading title. RS is same as MLE same as SWE but has a phd. Exception is RS who is classified as ML specialist eg domain expert in NLp or CV and you get a slightly different interview. You don’t end up doing a lot of research anyways even if you’re a specialist. only place to do research is FAIR but it’s a different hiring pipeline. From your description try ML specialist route. Seems like Recruiter tried ML generalist for you
    Apr 16 5
  • Amazon
    xubiduwa

    Go to company page Amazon

    xubiduwa
    Yes meta DS = amazon BIE
    Apr 16 1
    • +1

      Comparison of meta & amazon roles.

      RS = RS
      ARS = AS

      DS = BIE/DS
      PGA = BA

      Amazon DS can have varying responsibilities which might fall under either meta DS or ARS depending upon team.
      Apr 16
  • Meta
    Bayesian19

    Go to company page Meta

    Bayesian19
    Unfortunately ARS does not earn more than SWE or MLE. Product DS uses python and R regularly (not just SQL). They rarely do reporting. Mostly ‘understand’ work to give direction to product and shape the roadmaps. They also do opportunity sizing, setting up metrics/targets.
    Apr 16 0