Data Collection Program Manager

Meta; Fremont (CA); On-site; USD 99,000 - 144,000; Full time

Job summary

Meta’s XR Technology team seeks a Data Collection Program Manager to run onsite collection programs at the Fremont facility, coordinating labs and remote participant sessions. You’ll translate requirements into repeatable collection protocols, lead moderator teams, and manage hardware, tooling, and quality systems to ensure reproducible data.

You will partner with researchers and engineers to resolve collection issues, control quality, and balance scope, timeline, and cost while maintaining

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience; degree must be completed prior to joining Meta.
• 4+ years in program management, research operations, or technical operations with onsite data collection or hardware testing.
• Hands-on experience with hardware including setup, calibration, and failure triage.
• Experience coordinating onsite operators, moderators, technicians, or contingent staff.
• Experience authoring SOPs, training materials, or operational docs for hands-on teams.
• Experience establishing quality control processes and using metrics to drive improvement.
• Experience working with external vendors or staffing partners, including performance tracking.
• Experience translating technical requirements into executable operational plans and communicating status, risks, trade-offs to stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Run end-to-end onsite data collection programs at the Fremont capture facility.
• Translate requirements into executable collection protocols, session designs, and acceptance criteria.
• Coordinate collection across additional labs and remote or in-field sessions.
• Lead and develop onsite moderators and technicians operating capture hardware.
• Create and maintain SOPs, training curricula, and certification materials.
• Establish quality processes and post-collection audits to reduce rework and data rejection.
• Convert one-off collections into repeatable programs with predictable throughput.
• Set up, operate, and troubleshoot capture hardware and multi-device synchronization.
• Triage capture failures with hardware and firmware engineers.
• Manage external vendors for participant recruitment and onsite staffing; track performance.
• Align timelines and budgets across stakeholders, vendors, and facility capacity.
• Track spend and re-prioritize as schedules shift.
• Serve as the primary data consumer contact for collection status, quality metrics, and documentation.
• Ensure compliance with consent, privacy, data handling, and safety requirements.
• Track and report program health metrics to leadership.

Skills

Program management

Data collection operations

Vendor management

Team leadership

SOP & training development

Quality control metrics

Stakeholder communication

Requirements translation

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

Test equipment

Calibration tools

Sensors & capture rigs

Data capture hardware

Job description

Summary:

Meta's XR Technology team is building the next generation of wearable devices, and the machine learning systems that power them depend on high-quality human data captured in controlled, purpose-built environments. Our onsite collection facilities produce the ground-truth datasets that train and validate perception, sensing, and interaction models ahead of hardware milestones.As a Data Collection Program Manager, you will run onsite data collection programs based out of our primary capture facility, while coordinating collection activity at additional labs and remote or in-field participant sessions. You will translate engineering data requirements into repeatable collection protocols, lead the moderator teams who run capture sessions with participants, and operate the hardware, tooling, and quality systems that make each collection reproducible.You will partner directly with the research scientists and engineers who consume the data - working alongside technical program managers to define requirements, resolve capture issues, and close the loop on dataset quality - and you will manage the external vendor relationships that supply participant recruitment and onsite staffing capacity. This is a hands‑on, facility‑based role: capture hardware, participants, and moderator teams are physically located at the primary facility, and day‑to‑day execution requires being present with them. Collection windows are gated by hardware availability and downstream model training schedules, so success depends on disciplined planning, rigorous quality control, and sound judgment on trade‑offs between scope, timeline, and cost.

Required Skills:

Data Collection Program Manager Responsibilities:

1. Run end-to-end execution of onsite data collection programs at the Fremont capture facility, from requirements intake through dataset delivery and acceptance

2. Partner directly with research scientists and engineering teams to translate model and evaluation requirements into executable collection protocols, participant criteria, session designs, and acceptance criteria

3. Coordinate collection activity beyond the primary facility - including additional labs and remote or in-field participant collections - keeping protocols, tooling, and quality standards consistent across every location

4. Lead, schedule, and develop teams of onsite collection moderators and technicians who operate capture hardware and facilitate participant sessions

5. Build and maintain standard operating procedures, training curricula, and certification materials that allow new moderators to reach quality bar consistently and quickly

6. Establish and operate quality processes - including calibration routines, gold‑standard checks, in‑session validation, and post‑collection audits - and drive measurable reductions in rework and data rejection rates

7. Convert one‑off collections into repeatable, documented programs with predictable throughput and turnaround times

8. Set up, operate, and troubleshoot prototype and pre‑release capture hardware, sensor rigs, and multi‑device synchronization setups

9. partner with hardware and firmware engineers to triage and resolve capture failures

10. Manage day‑to‑day relationships with external vendors supporting participant recruitment and onsite staffing, including scoping, requirements handoff, performance tracking, and escalation

11. Align requirements, timelines, and budgets across engineering stakeholders, vendor partners, and facility capacity

12. track spend against forecast and re‑prioritize as hardware and training schedules shift

13. Serve as the primary point of contact for data consumers - communicating collection status, quality metrics, known limitations, and dataset documentation

14. Ensure collections meet participant consent, privacy, data handling, and safety requirements, partnering with legal, privacy, and research review partners

15. Track and report program health metrics - throughput, quality rates, schedule adherence, and budget consumption - to stakeholders at varying leadership levels

Minimum Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:

1. Currently has, or is in the process of obtaining a Bachelor's degree in a directly related field, or equivalent practical experience. Degree must be completed prior to joining Meta

2. 4+ years of experience in program management, research operations, or technical operations, including direct involvement in onsite or lab‑based data collection, user studies, or hardware testing programs

3. Hands‑on experience with hardware - prototype devices, sensors, capture rigs, or test equipment - including setup, calibration, and failure triage

4. Experience coordinating or leading onsite operators, moderators, technicians, or contingent staff, including scheduling and day‑to‑day direction

5. Experience authoring standard operating procedures, training materials, or operational documentation for hands‑on teams

6. Experience establishing quality control processes and using operational metrics to drive measurable improvement

7. Experience working with external vendors or staffing partners, including requirements handoff and performance tracking

8. Experience translating technical requirements from engineering or research stakeholders into executable operational plans, and communicating status, risks, and trade‑offs back to them

Preferred Qualifications:

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Experience in AR/VR, wearables, consumer electronics, or other hardware‑gated development environments

2. Experience coordinating operations across multiple physical sites or supporting remote data collection at scale

3. Experience with privacy, consent, and data governance requirements applicable to human‑subject or biometric data

4. Experience standing up a new lab, studio, or collection facility, or scaling an existing one

5. Demonstrated ability to integrate AI tools and workflow automation to optimize operational processes and drive measurable impact (e.g., efficiency gains, quality improvements)

6. Experience with multi‑sensor or multi‑device synchronized capture, sensor calibration, or biometric and physiological sensing

7. Experience collecting data for machine learning applications, including ground‑truth annotation, dataset curation, or model evaluation datasets

8. Familiarity with participant recruitment operations, screening criteria design, and informed consent processes for human‑subject data collection

Public Compensation:

$99,000/year to $144,000/year + bonus + equity + benefits

Industry: Internet

Equal Opportunity:

Meta is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affimative Action employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Meta participates in the E‑Verify program in certain locations, as required by law. Please note that Meta may leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies in connection with applications for employment.

Meta is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, please let us know at [e-mail].