Amid Meta layoffs, Mark Zuckerberg is hiring a ‘beach water person’ in Hawaii

While thousands of Meta employees anxiously refreshed their inboxes for layoff notices this week, another job posting connected to chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was quietly making waves online for a very different reason.

The role? “Beach water person.”

The position, advertised through West 10, the Zuckerberg family office, is based on the family’s sprawling estate in Kauai, Hawaii, and has quickly become one of the internet’s favourite examples of billionaire job titles gone wonderfully strange.

At first glance, the title sounds vague enough to mean almost anything involving sand and the sea. But according to the job description, the core responsibilities are surprisingly familiar: beach lifeguarding, pool lifeguarding and general water safety.

In short, Meta’s billionaire founder appears to be hiring a lifeguard, just not calling it one.

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Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘beach water person’ job listing sparks online confusion

The unusual title has attracted attention because almost every listed responsibility already exists under widely recognised job descriptions.

Beyond lifeguarding duties, the posting also mentions serving as a boat deckhand and helping guests with stand-up paddleboarding, canoeing, snorkelling and other water activities around the Hawaiian property.

Critics online have questioned why the role was not simply advertised as “lifeguard”, “beach attendant” or even “pool and beach safety officer”. Instead, “beach water person” has become the latest oddly specific billionaire phrase circulating across social media.

The role was first highlighted by Wired and quickly spread online, partly because the title appears to have little precedent elsewhere in the English-speaking world.

The timing has also intensified public reactions.

Meta layoffs 2026: AI restructuring hits thousands of employees worldwide

The eyebrow-raising job listing emerged almost simultaneously with another major round of layoffs at Meta, which reportedly impacts close to 8,000 employees globally.

The cuts form part of Zuckerberg’s continuing effort to reshape Meta into a more AI-focused company while reducing operational costs and simplifying management structures. Teams tied directly to artificial intelligence are still expanding, even as broader departments shrink.

According to reports from Bloomberg and The Business Times, employees in Singapore were among the first to receive notices, with some workers reportedly receiving emails at around 4 AM local time. Additional layoffs across the United States and Europe are expected to follow according to regional time zones.

The restructuring has fuelled growing concerns inside the company, especially as Meta continues pouring billions into AI infrastructure, products and research.

However, a day after the latest cuts began, Zuckerberg attempted to reassure employees in an internal memo reported by Reuters. He told staff that Meta does not currently expect any further company-wide layoffs this year and acknowledged frustrations around communication during previous restructuring efforts.

Still, the contrast between mass layoffs and the hiring of a “beach water person” has become difficult for many online observers to ignore.