Structural Design Engineer - FEA (Intern)

At Reality Labs we aim to bring together the brightest cross-disciplinary minds in one place to deliver on our mission: build tools that help people feel connected, anytime, anywhere.

As a Structural Design Engineering Intern, you will join the Structural Design & Analysis team and be integrated into the product development process. Under the mentorship of an experienced structural engineer, you will build finite element models, analyze AR/VR designs, support material characterization, and help verify & validate finite element models. You will work as part of a cross-functional team requiring collaboration with product design, manufacturing design, materials and reliability teams. Our ideal candidate has strong solid mechanics fundamentals, exposure to static & dynamic finite element analysis, intellectual curiosity, and strong communication skills.

Responsibilities

• As a structural design engineering intern, own a scoped structural analysis project end to end, from problem definition to final readout.
• Build module-level finite element models to assess risk of failure modes such as drop/shock, static strength, and thermo-mechanical stress.
• Perform first-principles hand calculations to sanity-check and bound simulation results.
• Support correlation and validation of finite element models against physical test data, in partnership with the REL & DVE teams.

Minimum qualifications

• Currently enrolled in an MS or PhD program in Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mechanics, or similar. Final-year BS candidates with relevant experience will be considered
• Fundamental understanding of solid mechanics, strength of materials, and finite element analysis
• Coursework, research, or project exposure to FEA softwares such as HyperMesh, SimLab, Abaqus, ANSYS etc
• Proven analytical skills based on first principles
• Proven communication skills
• Desire to work in a fast-paced environment
• Must be available for a minimum of 12 consecutive weeks of full-time internship and intend to return to a degree program afterwards Experience with explicit dynamics or drop/shock simulation
• Experience in material modeling and testing
• Familiarity with thermo-mechanical analysis
• Scripting experience in Python or MATLAB for simulation automation and post-processing
• Prior internship or research experience in consumer electronics or a similarly fast-paced hardware environment

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with explicit dynamics or drop/shock simulation
• Experience in material modeling and testing
• Familiarity with thermo-mechanical analysis
• Scripting experience in Python or MATLAB for simulation automation and post-processing
• Prior internship or research experience in consumer electronics or a similarly fast-paced hardware environment