Senior Manufacturing Engineer – Photonics Manufacturing & NPI
$149,400 USD yearly
Originally posted 4 November 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role serves as the manufacturing engineering owner responsible for transitioning advanced photonic hardware from Research & Development into pilot manufacturing, production, and eventual high-volume manufacturing. You will develop scalable manufacturing processes for hardware and subassemblies incorporating photonic integrated circuits (PICs), precision fiber optic assemblies, electro-optical systems, and cryogenic hardware.
What you'll do
- Lead manufacturing process development for PIC-based photonic hardware, fiber optic assemblies, electro-optical hardware, and precision opto-mechanical systems from R&D through pilot production and scale-up.
- Own precision fiber optic manufacturing processes including fiber stripping, cleaving, fusion splicing, handling, routing, connectorization, inspection, and strain relief.
- Develop manufacturing processes for optical packaging, precision optical alignment, electro-optical integration, and final assembly, supporting cleanroom operations and cryogenic hardware.
- Design, qualify, and optimize tooling, fixtures, workstations, and specialized assembly equipment while maintaining calibration and preventive maintenance schedules.
- Develop process controls, inspection methods, acceptance criteria, PFMEAs, Control Plans, SPC, DOE, MSA, and process validation.
- Lead manufacturing readiness activities, support Manufacturing Readiness Reviews (MRRs) and Production Transfer Gate Reviews, and prepare mature processes for Contract Manufacturing (CM) partners.
What you'll need
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related discipline.
- 8+ years of manufacturing engineering experience supporting complex photonic, semiconductor, optical, precision electromechanical, or other high-reliability products.
- Demonstrated success transitioning products from R&D through NPI, pilot production, manufacturing ramp, and sustained production.
- Hands-on experience with fiber stripping, precision cleaving, fusion splicing, fiber routing, handling, inspection, and connectorization.
- Experience supporting cleanroom manufacturing operations and developing manufacturing documentation, PFMEAs, Control Plans, SPC, process validation, and DFM/DFA.
- Experience preparing manufacturing processes for CM transfer.
Nice to have
- Experience with silicon photonics, quantum technologies, optical communications, semiconductor manufacturing, or precision optical instrumentation.
- Experience with PIC-based hardware, optical packaging, fiber attach, active optical alignment, or electro-optical assembly.
- Experience with automated optical inspection, production test equipment, or manufacturing automation.
- Experience supporting cryogenic and/or vacuum hardware.
- Experience with Manufacturing Readiness Reviews (MRRs), Production Transfer Gate Reviews, or similar phase-gate processes.
- Working knowledge of ISO 9001, AS9100, CAPA, engineering change management, document control, and risk management.
Skills: NPI, Photonic Integrated Circuits, Fiber splicing, Cleanroom, DFM/DFA
More semiconductor jobs: PsiQuantum jobs · Manufacturing jobs · California jobs
This role has been open 0 days — well below the 55-day median for Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering roles.
Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering · Manufacturing Equipment
|
Open roles in category
2431
|
Median days open
55 d
|
Category median salary (all employers)
$100k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | PsiQuantum | All employers we track in this specialty (2431 roles · 79 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 4 | 2431 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 12 | 10126 · 116 employers |
| Median days open | 40 d | 55 d (−15 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $100k |
Skills observed across this category: NPI, Photonic Integrated Circuits, Fiber splicing, Cleanroom, DFM/DFA
Who's hiring in this category
- Micron Technology · 322 open roles · median 71 d
- Applied Materials · 255 open roles · median 42 d
- Entegris · 212 open roles · median 53 d
- Lam Research · 108 open roles · median 75 d
- Infineon Technologies · 97 open roles · median 43 d
- ASML · 69 open roles · median 56 d
How we counted: 2431 open Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering (Manufacturing Equipment) roles from 79 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 Process, Fab & Equipment family row. Figures refresh nightly.