Principal Photonics Package Architect - San Jose, California, United States
$185,000 - $240,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 31 July 2026 by the employer — open 41 days.
About the role
This senior individual contributor position focuses on setting technical direction and driving packaging technology development for NPO and CPO products.
What you'll do
- Lead R&D for advanced packaging of optical chips, including 2.1D, 2.5D, and 3D integration.
- Define and optimize wafer-level, panel-level, or die-level packaging process flows.
- Drive EIC-to-PIC integration and broader optical device integration efforts.
- Select and qualify packaging materials for advanced packaging.
- Partner with OSAT, tool vendors, and material suppliers to drive equipment, process, and materials development.
- Characterize and continuously improve yield, reliability, and process capability for NPO and CPO packages.
What you'll need
- B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
- 8+ years of experience in semiconductor or advanced packaging engineering with technical leadership.
- Expertise in advanced packaging processes, including 2.5D/3D integration, flip-chip, hybrid bonding, Cu pillar, TSV, RDL, and overmold across wafer-, panel-, and die-level flows.
- Experience with silicon photonics chip packaging and EIC/PIC integration.
- Hands-on experience with advanced packaging materials, including underfill, molding compounds, dielectrics, adhesives, or optical-grade encapsulants.
- Proven track record of equipment and process qualification with OSAT or tool suppliers.
- Experience with PDK development and packaging design rule authoring.
- Strong foundation in yield analysis, reliability characterization, and process capability methodologies such as Cpk and SPC.
Nice to have
- Hands-on experience with CPO or NPO product development.
This role has been open 37 days — well below the 59-day median for Packaging Engineering roles.
Packaging Engineering · Advanced Packaging
|
Open roles in category
289
|
Median days open
59 d
|
Median salary
$180k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Astera Labs | All employers we track in this specialty (289 roles · 54 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 3 | 289 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 10 | 9211 · 109 employers |
| Median days open | 37 d | 59 d (−22 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $180k |
Who's hiring in this category
- KLA Corporation · 49 open roles · median 96 d
- Micron Technology · 26 open roles · median 35 d
- Infineon Technologies · 25 open roles · median 34 d
- Renesas Electronics · 21 open roles · median 15 d
- Intel Corporation · 16 open roles · median 50 d
- Lumilens · 12 open roles · median 34 d
How we counted: 289 open Packaging Engineering (Advanced Packaging) roles from 54 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 10 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 — it is counted in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family row. Figures refresh nightly.