Hardware Systems Architecture Intern, Performance & Workload Analysis

Job Title

Hardware Systems Architecture Intern, Performance & Workload Analysis

Role Summary

Intern on the Reality Labs Systems Engineering team converting user experiences and workloads into quantitative hardware requirements across compute, memory, storage, power, and thermal. You will be paired with a mentor, own a scoped 12-week project, and contribute analysis that informs silicon and platform decisions.

Experience Level

Entry-level internship. Intended for students enrolled in a graduate program; see Education Requirements for degree expectations.

Responsibilities

You will measure, model, and communicate system-level performance and power requirements to inform platform and silicon tradeoffs.

• Translate target use cases into budgets for compute, memory bandwidth, storage throughput, power, and thermal.
• Perform architecture trade studies comparing SoC, memory, storage, and ISP options against performance, power, thermal, cost, and form-factor constraints using analytical models.
• Measure platform behavior under load with power-rail instrumentation, thermal chambers, and hardware performance counters; use data to calibrate models.
• Identify hardware bottlenecks (memory bandwidth, power delivery, thermal headroom, I/O) that limit performance.
• Characterize requirement shifts across product classes (tethered/high-power headsets vs battery-limited wearables).
• Present findings and document results for silicon, hardware, and product teams.

Requirements

Must-have:

• Experience with quantitative modeling and data analysis using C++, Python, or MATLAB.
• Intent to return to a full-time degree program after the 12-week internship (internship eligibility requirement).
• Ability to obtain and maintain work authorization in the country of employment at the time of hire.

Nice-to-have / Preferred:

• Research or project experience in performance and power modeling, workload characterization, or architectural simulation.
• Hands-on system-level measurement experience: power-rail instrumentation, thermal characterization, or hardware performance counters and profiling tools.
• Familiarity with mobile or embedded SoC platforms, AR/VR systems, camera/ISP pipelines, or on-device ML workloads.
• Experience communicating quantitative analysis to cross-functional engineering partners.

Education Requirements

Currently pursuing a Master’s degree or higher (Master's required per posting) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field; PhD is preferred. Relevant coursework or research includes computer architecture, SoC design, embedded systems (memory hierarchy, interconnects, power management). Intent to return to a full-time degree program after the internship is required.

About the Company

Company: Meta Platforms

Headquarters: Menlo Park, California, United States

American technology company that develops social networking products (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) and invests in virtual/augmented reality hardware and software through Reality Labs, focusing on connectivity, advertising, and immersive computing experiences.