Senior Silicon Photonics Engineer

Role Overview

You will design high-speed silicon photonic integrated circuits operating at the limits of bandwidth and integration, and take them from concept → tapeout → silicon validation.

This role is suitable for strong PhD graduates through early-career engineers (~0–5 years experience) who want to work on real, production-bound systems, not just simulations.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Design and optimize silicon photonic devices and circuits, including:

  • High-speed modulators (MZI, ring, advanced structures)

  • Photodetectors and receiver building blocks

  • Passive components (couplers, filters, routing)

• Perform multi-domain simulations (EM, circuit, thermal) to meet targets in:

  • Bandwidth (200G/lane+)

  • Insertion loss, extinction ratio, efficiency

• Implement PIC layouts (GDS) using foundry PDKs and support tapeouts

• Co-design with electronics and packaging teams for CPO/NPO systems:

  • RF effects, parasitics, signal integrity, and thermal constraints

• Support silicon bring-up and characterization:

  • Correlate measurement vs simulation

  • Drive design iterations and improvements

• Contribute to design libraries, modeling, and methodology development

Requirements

• Education

  • PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related field (silicon photonics or closely related area)

• Experience

  • 0–5 years of relevant experience (including fresh PhD graduates)

• Technical Skills

  • Experience in design and simulation of silicon photonic devices or PICs

  • Strong understanding of guided-wave optics and device physics

  • Familiarity with tools such as Lumerical, COMSOL, or equivalent

• Implementation Skills

  • Exposure to PIC layout and tapeout flows (PDK, DRC/LVS)

• System Awareness

  • Basic understanding of optical communication systems and/or RF effects

Nice to Have

• Experience with high-speed devices (>100 GHz bandwidth or equivalent)

• Exposure to CPO/NPO or optical transceiver architectures

• Familiarity with SiPh + III-V integration

• Experience with inverse design / adjoint methods (e.g., Meep)

Why Join Us

• Work on real products at 200G/lane+, not just research prototypes

• Direct impact on AI infrastructure and hyperscale systems

• Fast iteration cycles from design → silicon → system

• High ownership early in your career

• Comprehensive benefits package including health insurance

• Collaborative environment with world-class engineering and R&D teams

The Senior Silicon Photonics Engineer designs and validates high-speed photonic integrated circuits, progressing work from simulation and layout through tapeout and silicon characterization. The role suits strong PhD graduates and early-career engineers working on production-bound optical systems.

Role at a glance

Skills mentioned

What you will likely work on

• Design and optimize modulators, photodetectors, receiver blocks, and passive photonic components.
• Run electromagnetic, circuit, and thermal simulations against bandwidth, loss, extinction-ratio, and efficiency targets.
• Create PIC layouts using foundry PDKs and support tapeout activities.
• Coordinate photonic designs with electronics and packaging considerations, including RF, parasitics, signal integrity, and thermal constraints.
• Support silicon bring-up and characterization by comparing measurements with simulations and iterating designs.
• Contribute to design libraries, device modeling, and design methodologies.

Good fit signals

• Holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field, with focus in silicon photonics or a closely related area.
• Has experience designing and simulating silicon photonic devices or PICs, and understands guided-wave optics and device physics.
• Has familiarity with Lumerical, COMSOL, or equivalent tools; exposure to PIC layout and tapeout flows is also relevant.
• Can bring a basic understanding of optical communications systems and/or RF effects.
• Experience with devices above 100 GHz bandwidth, CPO/NPO, SiPh–III-V integration, or inverse-design methods is advantageous.