Manager, Photonics Hardware Validation Engineering
$201,400 USD yearly
Originally posted 4 November 2026 by the employer.
About the role
The Engineering Manager, Photonics Hardware Validation owns the characterization, verification, validation, performance classification, and failure analysis of electro-optical subassemblies integrated with custom photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The focus spans single-photon sources and detectors, including associated RF signal readout chains, from initial bring-up through qualification and manufacturing readiness.
What you'll do
- Lead, hire, and manage a photonics hardware validation team, establishing technical ownership, staffing plans, priorities, and career development.
- Own end-to-end characterization, verification, and validation plans for photonic modules and electro-optical subassemblies across bring-up, qualification, and manufacturing transfer.
- Establish repeatable measurement methods, calibration practices, uncertainty analysis, experimental designs, and configuration-controlled test documentation.
- Drive cross-functional debugging, root-cause failure analysis investigations, and verification of corrective actions.
- Review integrated optical, electrical, firmware, software, packaging, and thermal designs to guide design-for-testability and validation access.
- Translate component and system requirements into measurable test coverage, acceptance criteria, requirements-to-test traceability, and validation reports.
What you'll need
- Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, physics, optics, photonics, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
- 8+ years of industry experience in optical and electro-optical hardware characterization, validation, and test, including 2+ years of people management or technical team leadership.
- Solid foundation in silicon photonics, optical systems, and electro-optical characterization, including insertion loss, return loss, and optical test equipment.
- Hands-on expertise with optical and RF laboratory instrumentation as well as RF readout electronics such as LNAs, bias tees, and baluns.
- Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional hardware bring-up, requirements-based test planning, qualification, and failure analysis.
- Experience conducting reproducible data analysis using Python, MATLAB, or comparable environments.
Nice to have
- Master’s degree or PhD in a relevant technical discipline.
- Experience with single-photon detection, low-noise RF readout chains, and characterization of low-level optical and electrical signals.
- Experience with wafer-level or packaged-device characterization, PIC integration, and design-for-test methodologies for photonic hardware.
- Experience with reliability qualification, statistical analysis, design of experiments, and production yield improvement.
- Experience testing in cryogenic environments or validating photonics hardware under thermo-mechanical stress for quantum computing applications.
More semiconductor jobs: PsiQuantum jobs · Test engineer jobs · California jobs
This role has been open 0 days — well below the 36-day median for Silicon Test Engineering roles.
Silicon Test Engineering · DFT Test
|
Open roles in category
630
|
Median days open
36 d
|
Category median salary (all employers)
$176k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | PsiQuantum | All employers we track in this specialty (630 roles · 86 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 4 | 630 |
| Open roles in the wider Silicon Validation & Test family | 11 | 2375 · 121 employers |
| Median days open | 10 d | 36 d (−26 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $176k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Teradyne · 87 open roles · median 33 d
- Infineon Technologies · 46 open roles · median 36 d
- Renesas Electronics · 46 open roles · median 31 d
- Micron Technology · 30 open roles · median 51 d
- Qualcomm · 30 open roles · median 47 d
- Texas Instruments · 29 open roles · median 42 d
How we counted: 630 open Silicon Test Engineering (DFT Test) roles from 86 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 4 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 Silicon Validation & Test family row. Figures refresh nightly.