Photonic Engineer, Senior
$139,400 - $209,200 USD yearly
Originally posted 27 August 2026 by the employer — open 25 days.
About the role
This role involves defining, designing, and developing photonic integrated circuits for silicon photonics platforms targeting high-speed optical interconnect and DWDM transceiver applications. You will work with active and passive photonic components using 3D structure simulation tools and foundry PDKs.
What you'll do
- Define, design, and develop photonic integrated circuits for optical interconnect and DWDM transceiver applications.
- Perform photonic device design covering active and passive components using 3D structure simulation tools and foundry PDKs.
- Develop and maintain script-based workflows using AI-assisted tooling to automate parameter sweeps, layout generation, and data processing.
- Collaborate with other designers and systems teams on DWDM transceiver product projects.
- Execute and interpret post-fabrication characterization lab testing and correlate data with models.
- Review and sign off on PIC physical layouts and participate in cross-functional design reviews.
What you'll need
- Bachelor's degree in EE, Physics, Optics, or related field with 5 years of PIC design experience, OR Master's degree with 3 years, OR PhD with 1 year.
- 2 years hands-on experience with Lumerical (FDTD, MODE, CHARGE, INTERCONNECT), and any layout editor/viewer (Cadence Virtuoso, KLayout, or equivalent), and Python.
- Hands-on design experience with silicon-photonics foundry PDKs.
- System-level understanding of optical link budgets, DWDM channel plans, OMA/TDECQ, and transceiver power allocation.
Nice to have
- 2 years of Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) design experience (chip-to-chip optical coupling, CPO-specific constraints, or tape-out in a CPO-targeted node).
- 2 years of PIC-EIC co-design (joint optimization for high-speed transceivers, including driver/TIA co-simulation with active photonic devices).
- System-level photonic simulation tools: VPI Photonics, Lumerical Zemax OpticStudio, or equivalent.
- Experience with DWDM wavelength control loops, thermal tuning, or closed-loop resonance lock for ring-modulator transmitters.
- Track record of photonic tape-outs (MPW or full-reticle) with post-silicon characterization closure.
- Publication record or patent filings in integrated photonics.
Skills: photonic integrated circuits, silicon photonics, DWDM, Lumerical, PDKs
This role has been open 24 days — well below the 61-day median for Optical/Photonics IC Design roles.
Optical/Photonics IC Design · Photonics
|
Open roles in category
121
|
Median days open
61 d
|
Median salary
$195k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Qualcomm | All employers we track in this specialty (121 roles · 31 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 1 | 121 |
| Median days open | 24 d | 61 d (−37 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $195k |
Skills observed across this category: photonic integrated circuits, silicon photonics, DWDM, Lumerical, PDKs
Who's hiring in this category
- GlobalFoundries · 18 open roles · median 55 d
- Lightmatter · 17 open roles · median 68 d
- Coherent Corp · 15 open roles · median 61 d
- Lumentum · 8 open roles · median 48 d
- PsiQuantum · 6 open roles · median 110 d
- Ayar Labs · 5 open roles · median 45 d
How we counted: 121 open Optical/Photonics IC Design (Photonics) roles from 31 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 21 Sept 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there. Figures refresh nightly.