Intern, Free-Space Optical Test Systems
$50 - $60 USD hourly
Focus on building and characterizing an advanced free-space optical system for imaging photonic integrated circuits.
About the role
Ayar Labs is seeking a graduate intern to build and characterize an advanced free-space optical system for imaging silicon photonic integrated circuits. The role spans theory, hardware, and software, developing computational methods for wavefront control, modeling beam propagation, and executing bench alignment.
What you'll do
- Build and align the free-space optical bench, including fiber coupling, camera-based imaging, and polarization optics.
- Develop computational methods to control and optimize the imaging system through numerical optimization.
- Design and implement wavefront control and model beam propagation through the optical train.
- Write Python software for instrument control, test automation, and numerical optimization.
- Execute experiments to characterize system performance against defined targets.
What you'll need
- Active enrollment in a Ph.D. program in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Photonics, Optics, or equivalent.
- Strong working knowledge of Fourier optics and beam propagation, with demonstrated ability to model optical fields through multi-element systems.
- Solid grounding in optical imaging system design, including pupil and image plane relationships, resolution and field of view trade-offs, and aberration theory.
- Hands-on experience with wavefront control and holography, including spatial light modulators or equivalent programmable optical elements.
- Demonstrated experience building and aligning free-space optical benches.
- Proficiency in Python for numerical optimization, instrument control, and test automation.
More semiconductor jobs: Hardware design jobs · San Jose jobs
This role has been open 4 days — well below the 46-day median for Hardware Systems Engineering roles.
Hardware Systems Engineering · AI ML Hardware
|
Open roles in category
1126
|
Median days open
46 d
|
Category median salary (all employers)
$150k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Ayar Labs | All employers we track in this specialty (1126 roles · 109 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 12 | 1126 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 24 | 6531 · 156 employers |
| Median days open | 51 d | 46 d (+5 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $150k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Intel Corporation · 88 open roles · median 33 d
- KLA Corporation · 66 open roles · median 59 d
- Applied Materials · 60 open roles · median 40 d
- ASML · 59 open roles · median 17 d
- NVIDIA · 58 open roles · median 74 d
- Teradyne · 58 open roles · median 51 d
How we counted: 1126 open Hardware Systems Engineering (AI ML Hardware) roles from 109 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 8 Nov 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.