Senior Vision Science Researcher, AR/VR
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Minimum qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Vision Science, Optometry, Neuroscience, Psychology, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- 6 years of experience in applied research or product development.
- Expertise in designing, conducting, and analyzing psychophysical experiments and human-subject studies.
- Experience in data analysis and modeling using tools such as Python, MATLAB, or R.
- Experience in a leadership or lead researcher role, overseeing end-to-end research projects and mentoring cross-functional partners.
Preferred qualifications:
- PhD in Vision Science, Optometry, Neuroscience, Psychology, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- Experience with AR/VR/MR systems, particularly in areas like flicker perception, motion blur, color science, or depth perception.
- Experience maintaining a record of influential research, evidenced by peer-reviewed publications or patents in vision science or display technology.
- Experience working with US-based anthropometric data and human factors engineering.
- Knowledge of display technologies (e.g., OLED, LCD, micro-LED), optical systems, and their interaction with the human visual system.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate complex scientific findings into actionable engineering requirements for non-expert stakeholders.
About the job
At Google, we follow a simple but vital premise: "Focus on the user and all else will follow." Quantitative User Experience Researchers make this possible.
Google User Experience (UX) is made up of multi-disciplinary teams of UX Designers, Researchers, Writers, Content Strategists, Program Managers, and Engineers: we care deeply about the people who use our products. The UX team plays an integral part in gathering insights about the attitudes, emotions, needs, and behaviors of people who use our products to inspire and inform design. We collaborate closely with each other and with engineering and product management to create industry-leading products that deliver value for the people who use them, and for Google’s businesses.
As a Quantitative User Experience Researcher (Quant UXR), you’ll help inform your team of UXers, product managers, and engineers about user needs. You’ll play a critical role in creating useful, usable, and delightful products. You’ll work with stakeholders across functions and levels and have impact at all stages of product development.
You will investigate user behavior and user needs using empirical research methods such as logs analysis, survey research, path modeling, and regression analysis. Quant UXRs vary in background and use skills from computer science, quantitative social science, econometrics, data science, survey research, psychology, human-computer interaction, and other fields. You’ll combine skills in behavioral research design, statistical methods, and general programming to improve user experience.
The Quantitative UXR community at Google will help you do your best work. You’ll have the opportunity to work with and learn from UXRs across Google through regular meetups, mentor programs, and access to internal research tools.
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Our Devices & Services team combines the best of Google AI, Software, and Hardware to create radically helpful experiences for users. We research, design, and develop new technologies and hardware to make our user's interaction with computing faster, seamless, and more powerful. Whether finding new ways to capture and sense the world around us, advancing form factors, or improving interaction methods, the Devices & Services team is making people's lives better through technology.
The US base salary range for this full-time position is $151,000-$222,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.
Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Learn more about benefits at Google.
Responsibilities
- Define display specifications—such as brightness, resolution, and color accuracy—and provide unified perceptual goals for Optics and Display teams through literature reviews and psychophysics studies.
- Evaluate display and optical prototypes to provide data-driven guidance on technology selection, optical alignment, and headset design parameters.
- Uncover novel insights into the human visual system to solve complex AR/VR challenges and apply these findings across multiple hardware platforms, including phones and watches.
- Partner with Design teams to provide guidance on ergonomics, eye-box size, and UI principles to optimize user comfort and minimize visual fatigue.
- Empower Product Management with scientific rationale for visual trade-offs and identify future technological opportunities grounded in human perception.
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Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents-to-be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See also Google's EEO Policy, Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal, Belonging at Google, and How we hire.
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Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting.
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