Design and optimize epitaxial layer stacks and III-V semiconductor optical amplifiers for programmable photonic systems.
About the role
As a Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA) Development Engineer at iPronics, you will contribute to the design, development, and optimization of semiconductor optical amplifiers for programmable photonic systems. You will work across device physics, materials science, and manufacturing to develop building blocks for photonic systems.
What you'll do
- Design and optimize epitaxial layer stacks to achieve target device performance.
- Perform device simulation and modeling to predict and improve behavior.
- Apply Design for Manufacturability (DfM) and Design for Testing (DfT) principles to ensure scalable, high-yield solutions, test strategies, and measurement analysis.
- Develop and execute test and characterization routines for fabricated devices, analyzing experimental data to guide design improvements.
- Interface with suppliers and foundries to define specifications and support process development.
- Collaborate with system, packaging, and photonic integration teams while maintaining documentation of designs, simulations, and processes.
What you'll need
- PhD in Photonics, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or a related field with 3+ years of industry experience, or MSc with 5+ years.
- Experience working with III-V devices such as optical amplifiers or lasers, with hands-on lab characterization experience.
- Understanding of semiconductor physics, epitaxial design, and semiconductor manufacturing processes.
- Experience with simulation tools such as PhotonDesign Harold, NextNano, Lumerical MQW, Simulase, or similar.
- Experience with DfM and DfT methodologies.
- Python programming skills and data analysis capabilities for large datasets.
Nice to have
- Experience with epitaxial growth.
- Experience working with foundries or fabrication teams.
- Mask design and tape-out experience.
- Familiarity with reliability testing.
More semiconductor jobs: Hardware design jobs
First seen in our index 2 days ago, well below the 47-day median for Hardware Systems Engineering roles.
Hardware Systems Engineering · AI ML Hardware
|
Open roles in category
1150
|
Median days since first seen
47 d
|
Category median salary (all employers)
$148k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | iPronics | All employers we track in this specialty (1150 roles · 109 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 3 | 1150 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 7 | 6558 · 157 employers |
| Median days since first seen | 7 d | 47 d (+40 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | n/a | $148k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Intel Corporation · 90 open roles · median 34 d
- KLA Corporation · 68 open roles · median 61 d
- NVIDIA · 61 open roles · median 74 d
- Teradyne · 59 open roles · median 53 d
- Applied Materials · 58 open roles · median 46 d
- ASML · 57 open roles · median 20 d
How we counted: 1150 open Hardware Systems Engineering (AI ML Hardware) roles from 109 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 11 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, and is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Days are counted from when our index first saw each posting, not from the employer's original posting date.