Michael Vaks Builds Software for Meta Wearables
Michael Vaks, a 2019 graduate of New Jersey Institute of Technology, works as a staff software engineer on Meta’s Core UX / System UX team, building foundational software for wearable devices like AI and display glasses. Vaks studied computer science and applied mathematics through the Albert Dorman Honors College, completing internships at Goldman Sachs and Facebook before securing a full-time role.
At Meta, Vaks helps design the software systems and user experiences powering emerging wearable products. His work spans Android OS, real-time operating systems, system applications, and frameworks that support core device functionality and user interactions.
Architectural Changes Reduce Communication Latency
One notable engineering project involved architecting a modular, persistent system interface to support core device interactions. By decentralizing components typically coupled within Android, Vaks and his team built an architecture suited to the hardware constraints of wearable devices.
This structural change reduced communication latency from hundreds of milliseconds to under 10 milliseconds. The optimization also freed up over 60 MB of memory and simplified the process of upgrading to newer Android versions without extensive system rewrites.
Hardware Constraints Shape Artificial Intelligence Deployment
Delivering a responsive and reliable experience within strict hardware limitations presents a primary engineering challenge for wearable AI. Unlike smartphones, wearables face tighter constraints regarding processing power, memory, battery life, and heat management.
To address these limits, the engineering team carefully manages computation workloads. Vaks explained that this involves offloading certain tasks to more power-efficient processors, reducing unnecessary background processing, and optimizing resource usage across the system.
Wearables offer an opportunity to make AI interactions more immediate and natural, according to Vaks. Rather than pulling out a phone and opening an app, users can instantly ask AI about their surroundings while wearing devices such as Meta Ray-Bans. Achieving lasting user trust and daily utility requires solving real problems consistently while protecting privacy and maintaining user control over information.
Hands-On Experience at NJIT Prepared Vaks for Industry
During his time at NJIT, Vaks gained practical engineering experience working at S&A Technology in the university’s Enterprise Development Center. His projects included developing a system to improve 3D printing efficiency for the U.S. Army and rebuilding API functionality that saved Coldwell Banker approximately $50,000 annually in licensing fees. He also worked on augmented reality training applications for Bayer and Skanska.
His campus involvement included membership in the Pi Kappa Phi social fraternity, the Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity, writing articles for the student newspaper The Vector, participating in a campus hackathon, and serving as a summer teaching assistant for an introductory computer science course.
Frequently Asked Questions
What academic background prepared Michael Vaks for his role at Meta?
Vaks studied computer science and applied mathematics as a scholarship recipient through the Albert Dorman Honors College at NJIT, graduating in 2019.
What specific performance improvements resulted from the Meta Core UX team’s system interface redesign?
The architectural changes reduced communication latency from hundreds of milliseconds to under 10 milliseconds and freed up over 60 MB of memory.
Which commercial clients benefited from software projects Vaks completed while working at the NJIT Enterprise Development Center?
While working at S&A Technology inside the EDC, Vaks worked on projects for Coldwell Banker, Bayer, Skanska, and the U.S. Army.
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